Zero growth
Encyclopedia
Zero growth is a theory that all economic activities and policies should be oriented towards achieving a state of equilibrium
, a steady state economy.
The theory asserts that the continuous growth model is inherently unstable resulting in a "boom/bust" cycle, and that continuous growth in the context of finite resources
is unlikely to support current levels of prosperity indefinitely.
Proponents of this theory also explicitly challenge the popular equation of economic growth with progress and posit that sustainability has inherent value.
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When a quantity such as the rate
of consumption of a resource grows a fixed percent per year, the growth is exponential:
(1)
where
is the current rate of consumption at 
, 
is the base of natural logarithms, 
is the fractional growth per year, and 
is the time in years.
The growing quantity will increase to twice its initial size in the doubling time
.
To find
we solve for 
such that 
has doubled
Taking the log of both sides:
(2)
Where
, the percent growth per year, is 
. The total consumption of a resource between the present (
) and a future time 
is:
(3) The consumption in a steady period of growth is:
(4) If the known size of the resource is
tons, then we can determine the exponential expiration time (EET) by finding the time 
at which the total consumption C is equal to R:
(5) We may solve this for the exponential expiration time
where:
(6)This equation is valid for all positive values of
and for those negative values of 
for which the argument of the logarithm is positive.
Economic equilibrium
In economics, economic equilibrium is a state of the world where economic forces are balanced and in the absence of external influences the values of economic variables will not change. It is the point at which quantity demanded and quantity supplied are equal...
, a steady state economy.
The theory asserts that the continuous growth model is inherently unstable resulting in a "boom/bust" cycle, and that continuous growth in the context of finite resources
Scarcity
Scarcity is the fundamental economic problem of having humans who have unlimited wants and needs in a world of limited resources. It states that society has insufficient productive resources to fulfill all human wants and needs. Alternatively, scarcity implies that not all of society's goals can be...
is unlikely to support current levels of prosperity indefinitely.
Proponents of this theory also explicitly challenge the popular equation of economic growth with progress and posit that sustainability has inherent value.
----
When a quantity such as the rate
of consumption of a resource grows a fixed percent per year, the growth is exponential: (1)where
is the current rate of consumption at , is the base of natural logarithms, is the fractional growth per year, and is the time in years.The growing quantity will increase to twice its initial size in the doubling time
.To find
we solve for such that has doubled Taking the log of both sides:
(2)Where
, the percent growth per year, is . The total consumption of a resource between the present () and a future time is:(3) The consumption in a steady period of growth is:
(4) If the known size of the resource is
tons, then we can determine the exponential expiration time (EET) by finding the time at which the total consumption C is equal to R:(5) We may solve this for the exponential expiration time
where:(6)This equation is valid for all positive values of
and for those negative values of for which the argument of the logarithm is positive.See also
- De-growthDe-growthDegrowth is a political, economic, and social movement based on environmentalist, anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist ideas...
- Post Autistic Economics
- History of economics
- Peak oilPeak oilPeak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, projected reserves and the combined production rate of a field...
- Zero Population GrowthZero population growthZero population growth, sometimes abbreviated ZPG , is a condition of demographic balance where the number of people in a specified population neither grows nor declines, considered as a social aim....