Australian Economic Development and the Environment: Conflict or Synergy
Date
2008
Authors
Bennett, Jeffrey
Gillespie, Robert
Dumsday, Rob
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Australian National University
Abstract
The populist view of economic development and the environment is that advances in one
will necessarily result in a decline in the other. Evidence in the Australian context is that
the dual goals can be achieved simultaneously.
As economic development progresses, the increasing levels of income stimulate greater
demand for environmental improvements. The population engages in more
environmentally focused consumption and calls for its governments to introduce more
policies designed to rehabilitate and protect environmental assets. Concurrently, the
increasing levels of wealth allow for increasing expenditure on research and
development into production processes that generate greater productivity and less
environmental damage.
The Australian agricultural sector provides numerous examples of concurrent
improvements in productivity and environmental condition. Zero tillage broad acre grain
cultivation practices have led to lower rates of soil erosion and have enriched soil biota
while delivering higher productivity. Similarly, the introduction of integrated pest
management, including the planting of pest and herbicide tolerant species, has improved
water quality in cotton growing areas.
A key implication from this analysis is that policies to improve environmental conditions
should not be focused on stifling economic growth. Rather, governments should strive for
policies that will encourage economic growth – such as the installation of property rights
that are both well defined and defended. Concurrently, policies specifically designed to
deal with potential environmental problems should be enacted. For instance, the
establishment of property rights to water and the setting aside of allocations for
environmental flows will encourage both economic development and environmental
protection.
Description
Keywords
economic development, environmental protection, agriculture, policy
Citation
Collections
Source
Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society
Type
Conference paper
Book Title
Entity type
Access Statement
Open Access via publisher website
License Rights
Restricted until
2099-12-31