Publisher description

A clear and practical examination of complex issues, Local Economic Development and the Environment: Finding Common Ground provides a broad, academic look at the intersection of two important areas for local administrators. In addition to managing development in a strained economic climate, most administrators are also expected to be stewards of the environment. However, economic conditions often leave them with limited options for pursuing economic development and, at the same time, being environmentally mindful. Many find themselves without a clear understanding of the concepts, tools, and best practices available to accomplish this herculean task. Translating complex environmental and economic concepts into easily applicable practices, the book: Gives practitioners the information they need to communicate with consultants, constituents, and officials, and to avoid ideological obstacles Compares regulatory differences between states and other geographical differences Includes examples from across the country to highlight variations in environmental regulations and laws Provides technical, legal, and political insights into the process of pursuing local economic development projects that incorporate protection and awareness Contains case studies that demonstrate the concepts in action, allowing readers to fully grasp the complexities associated with sustainable economic development Discusses how local administrators can balance the economic and environmental needs of the future Bridging the gap between policy-making intention and outcome, this book connects readers with a larger body of research that not only underpins practical applications but also helps them avoid legal, technical, and political obstacles. It provides an arsenal of best practices and everyday, easy-to-use strategies for optimizing the difficult balance between economic development and environmental protection.

Is economic growth good for the environment? A number of economists have claimed that economic growth can benefit the environment, recruiting political support and finance for environmental policy measures. This view has received increasing support since the early 1990s from empirical evidence that has challenged the traditional environmentalist's belief that economic growth degrades the environment. This book reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on growth and the environment, giving an in-depth empirical treatment of the relationship between the two. Various hypotheses are formulated and tested for a number of indicators of environmental pressure. The test results indicate that alternative models and estimation methods should be used, altering previous conclusions about the effect of economic growth on the environment and offering an insight into the forces driving emission reduction in developed countries.

Despite its tiny size and seeming marginality to world affairs, the Central American republic of Costa Rica has long been considered an important site for experimentation in cutting-edge environmental policy. From protected area management to ecotourism to payment for environmental services (PES) and beyond, for the past half-century the country has successfully positioned itself at the forefront of novel trends in environmental governance and sustainable development. Yet the increasingly urgent dilemma of how to achieve equitable economic development in a world of ecosystem decline and climate change presents new challenges, testing Costa Rica’s ability to remain a leader in innovative environmental governance. This book explores these challenges, how Costa Rica is responding to them, and the lessons this holds for current and future trends regarding environmental governance and sustainable development. It provides the first comprehensive assessment of successes and challenges as they play out in a variety of sectors, including agricultural development, biodiversity conservation, water management, resource extraction, and climate change policy. By framing Costa Rica as an “ecolaboratory,” the contributors in this volume examine the lessons learned and offer a path for the future of sustainable development research and policy in Central America and beyond.

Environmental Sustainability and Economy contains the latest practical and theoretical concepts of sustainability science and economic growth. It includes the latest research on sustainable development, the impact of pollution due to economic activities, energy policies and consumption influencing growth and environment, waste management and recycling, circular economy, and climate change impacts on both the environment and the economy. The 21st century has seen the rise of complex and multi-dimensional pathways between different aspects of sustainability. Due to globalization, these relationships now work at varying spatiotemporal scales resulting in global and regional dynamics. This book explores the complex relationship between sustainable development and economic growth, linking the environmental and social aspects with the economic pillar of sustainable development. Utilizing global case studies and interdisciplinary perspectives, Environmental Sustainability and Economy provides a comprehensive account of sustainable development and the economics of environmental protection studies with a focus on the environmental, geographical, economic, anthropogenic and social-ecological environment. Includes extensive interdisciplinary coverage, including intersectional topics such as environmental pollution and economic growth, resource utilization and circular economy, climate change and emissions, and sustainable solutions and green behavior Discusses market innovations and strategies through the lens of global case studies in sustainability and economic growth Bridges the gap between environmental studies and economics to reflect sustainable practices for enhancing environmental protection in response to climate change

Economic growth as we know it today cannot persist indefinitely if it entails continuous degradation of natural resources and the environment. While in a few countries around the world it appears that environmental degradation has been the result of rapid economic growth, in the vast majority of the developing countries the environment has been equally spoiled despite slow or even negative economic growth. This book provides new insights on the common roots of economic stagnation, poverty and environmental degradation which, unfortunately, generally reside in misguided government policies and priorities. By doing this, the volume seeks to provide a broader policy option framework than those found in conventional policy analyses, mainly dominated by the "Washington Consensus". It shows that a major omission of the conventional view is that governments tend to allocate government expenditures in a biased way favouring subsidies to the economic elites to the detriment of investments in public goods, including human capital, R&D, as well as the development of institutions (environmental and otherwise), which are vital for long run growth, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability.