Wednesday 3rd May 2017, 2 - 3 pm, Gottmann A room, Faculty of Geography and the Environment, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, South Parks Road.
Global environmental problems such as climate change as well as consumerism make it questionable whether further economic growth is desirable as an objective of economic policy in rich countries. Some parts of the "post-growth movement" indeed consider a stagnation of the economy as helpful for solving environmental problems and as a recipe for increasing well-being. The arguments put forward to support this position are based on important insights about environmental policy and consumer behaviour, which enrich traditional economics. However, on closer examination, there are gaps in the arguments, so that a degrowth position seems untenable. In analysing the arguments carefully, the seminar summarises in how far and with which political proposals economic growth and climate change mitigation are compatible.