From Growth to Green Growth -- a Framework

40 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by S. Hallegatte

S. Hallegatte

World Bank

Geoffrey M. Heal

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Finance; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Marianne Fay

World Bank

David O. Treguer

World Bank

Date Written: November 1, 2011

Abstract

Green growth is about making growth processes resource-efficient, cleaner and more resilient without necessarily slowing them. This paper aims at clarifying these concepts in an analytical framework and at proposing foundations for green growth. The green growth approach proposed here is based on (1) focusing on what needs to happen over the next 5-10 years before the world gets locked into patterns that would be prohibitively expensive and complex to modify and (2) reconciling the short and the long term, by offsetting short-term costs and maximizing synergies and economic co-benefits. This, in turn, increases the social and political acceptability of environmental policies. This framework identifies channels through which green policies can potentially contribute to economic growth. However, only detailed country- and context-specific analyses for each of these channels could reach firm conclusion regarding their actual impact on growth. Finally, the paper discusses the policies that can be implemented to capture these co-benefits and environmental benefits. Since green growth policies pursue a variety of goals, they are best served by a combination of instruments: price-based policies are important but are only one component in a policy tool-box that can also include norms and regulation, public production and direct investment, information creation and dissemination, education and moral suasion, or industrial and innovation policies.

Keywords: Environmental Economics & Policies, Climate Change Economics, Economic Theory & Research, Transport Economics Policy & Planning, Labor Policies

Suggested Citation

Hallegatte, Stephane and Heal, Geoffrey M. and Fay, Marianne and Treguer, David O., From Growth to Green Growth -- a Framework (November 1, 2011). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 5872, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1955109

Stephane Hallegatte

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20433
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Geoffrey M. Heal

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Finance ( email )

3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States
212-854-6459 (Phone)
212-316-9219 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/gheal/

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
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Marianne Fay

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20433
United States

David O. Treguer

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

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