The physical dimension of international trade, part 2: Indirect global resource flows between 1962 and 2005

Dittrich, Monika; Bringezu, Stefan; Schütz, Helmut

doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.04.014

Cited by 96 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Ten billion tonnes (10 gigatons, Gt) of materials and products were shipped between countries in 2005 (Dittrich and Bringezu 2010 ). And this fi gure includes only the direct physical trade, i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts Embodied in Global Trade Flows

Wiedmann

2016

Taking Stock of Industrial Ecology

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The steep and unprecedented growth of globalisation and trade over the last few decades has led to accelerated economic activity with mixed outcomes. Continued economic growth and alleviation of poverty in many countries has been accompanied with an overall increase and shifting of environmental pressures between countries. Industrial ecology research has contributed decisively to the knowledge around impacts in trade. This chapter summarises the latest empirical fi ndings on global change instigated by trade, discusses new methodological developments and refl ects on the sustainability of globalised production and consumption. Signifi cant proportions of up to 64 % of total environmental, social and economic impacts can be linked to international trade. Impacts embodied in trade have grown much more rapidly than their total global counterparts. Policies aimed at increasing the sustainability of production and consumption need to go beyond domestic regulation and seek international cooperation to target production practices for exports worldwide.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts Embodied in Global Trade Flows

Wiedmann

2016

Taking Stock of Industrial Ecology

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“…The coefficient approach does not face restrictions regarding the definition of sectors or product groups and thus allows performing very specific comparisons of footprints down to the level of single products or materials (Dittrich et al, 2012a). This approach therefore allows for illustrating the composition of material footprints by commodity or product category in a very straightforward and transparent manner, as the overall numbers are summed up from the bottom (Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2011).…”

Section: Advantages and Disadvantages Of Coefficient Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The methodology developed and applied by the Wuppertal Institute (Dittrich et al, 2012a;Dittrich et al, 2013;Schütz and Bringezu, 2008) calculates indirect material flows related to international trade by multiplying the physical quantity of each traded product with a coefficient of material inputs required along the production chain. The physical quantities of all traded commodities were taken from the UN Comtrade database.…”

Section: Coefficient Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review and comparative assessment of existing approaches to calculate material footprints

Lutter

Giljum

Brückner

2016

Ecological Economics

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“…A growing number of countries are net-importers and thus rely on international trade in order to meet their socio-economic needs for physical goods. Physical exchange relations across national boundaries are continuing to increase in volume and are becoming more relevant than ever (Dittrich and Bringezu 2010).…”

Section: The Physical Trade Balancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…To meet their physical needs, 'core' countries increasingly depend on international trade and in particular on imports. These imports often come from 'non-core' countries, resulting in a net material inflow to 'core' countries and thus a significant imbalance in physical trade flows between 'core' and 'non-core' regions (Adriaanse et al 1997;Dittrich and Bringezu 2010;Giljum and Eisenmenger 2004;Hornborg 2010Hornborg , 2012Martinez-Alier 2007;Matthews et al 2000;Schütz, Moll and Bringezu 2004;Wiedmann et al 2013). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

South America's biophysical involvement in international trade: the physical trade balances of Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil in the light of ecologically unequal exchange

Dorninger

Eisenmenger²

2016

Journal of Political Ecology

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International trade is becoming increasingly important in the strategies of industrialized economies ('core' countries) to meet their physical needs and maintain their social metabolism. Less industrialized ('non-core') countries, in particular those with low population densities such as countries in South America, provide a large share of the natural resources currently being used by the 'core' countries. This article analyzes the relations of biophysical exchange of Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil with global 'core' and 'non-core' countries in order to add to a discussion of possible relations of different national economic policies, such as import substituting industrialization or neoliberal adjustment, on the countries' physical trade balances (PTBs). By that we will provide a biophysical reading of ecologically unequal exchange; by investigating whether there is a physical net trade flow from 'non-core' to 'core' countries, whether primary products dominate exports of 'non-core' countries in exchange for processed products from 'core' countries, and whether the notion of unfavorable mass-to-price relation for the trading 'non-core' countries applies (Hornborg 2012;Martinez-Alier 2007). The magnitudes, type of material, stage of processing and monetary value of the traded goods are analyzed for the time period from 1962 to 2011. The evaluations have been carried out for trade relations with the 'core' and the 'non-core' countries separately. Additionally, in order to trace the so-called China Effect, which led to the period of new extractivism, the quantities exported to China are shown separately. The results indicate that the three countries examined are net exporters of physical quantities. The physical involvement in 'core'-and 'non-core'-related international trade differs greatly, but at the same time the relative importance of the 'core' as trading partner has decreased steadily over the five decades. Still, 'core'-related trade involves the most unfavorable mass-to-price relation. These conditions, i.e. high importance of unprocessed export commodities, low average unit prices, and an unfavorable monetary trade balance (MTB), reveal many characteristics of an ecologically unequal exchange. This is especially true for Argentina and Brazil. Due to its lower economic performance and limited involvement in international trade, Bolivia to some extent represents an exception. Keywords: Ecologically unequal exchange, physical trade balance, South America, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil. RésuméLe commerce international devient de plus en plus important pour les économies industrialisées afin de satisfaire leurs besoins matériels et maintenir leur fonctionnement social. Les pays en voie de développement, en particulier ceux qui présentent une faible densité de population comme l'Amérique du Sud, fournissent une 1 Christian Dorninger, PhD candidate, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany. E-mail: christian.dorninger "at" leuphana.de. This article is based on his Masters thesis i...

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The physical dimension of international trade, part 2: Indirect global resource flows between 1962 and 2005

Cited by 96 publications

References 17 publications

Impacts Embodied in Global Trade Flows

Impacts Embodied in Global Trade Flows

A review and comparative assessment of existing approaches to calculate material footprints

South America's biophysical involvement in international trade: the physical trade balances of Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil in the light of ecologically unequal exchange

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