the future of the international economy: causes for optimism

Question 1

what are the two types of optimism ?

Answer 1

complacent and conditional optimism

Question 2

what is complacent optimism and is this viable for climate change?

Answer 2

this is when you believe you can just carry on with business as usual and is not a viable option with respect to climate change

Question 3

what is conditional optimism and is this viable for climate change?

Answer 3

this is when you believe that ideas, innovation and technology of the future will be able to solve the issue. this is viable but requires strategy, incentives and action

Question 4

why is climate change the toughest public policy problem we have ever faced?

Answer 4

1- the crisis is global
2- it creates a huge collective action problem
3- the problem is intergenerational so who will represent the young and future generations, businesses are only concerned with profits. who bears burden the current or future generations?
4-whole economy is based on cheap fossil fuel energy
5- climate change is a slow moving crisis
6- solution is complex and requiring changes in every sector of the economy
7- energy sector is home to powerful companies who have strong lobbying power

Question 5

what are factors that need to be taken into account for the collective action problem?

Answer 5

A. Rich and poor countries (ethics!)
B. Exporters and importers of fossil fuels
C. Vulnerable and less vulnerable countries
D. Democracies and dictatorships

Question 6

what are the adaptive solutions to climate change ?

Answer 6

• investments in infrastructure (costly)
• development of more draught resistant crops
• air conditioning
• riding bike/walking
• public vs private transportation
• building sea defenses

Question 7

what are three methods of slowing climate change?

Answer 7

geoengineering, carbon removal and mitigation (abatement)

Question 8

how will geoengineering slow climate change?

Answer 8

it will enable earth to reflect more heat

Question 9

how will carbon removal slow climate change?

Answer 9

it will remove co2 from the atmosphere

Question 10

how will mitigation ( abatement) slow climate change?

Answer 10

reduce emissions of co2 by reducing the intensity of production. this will reduce the co2/GDP therefore raising the price of carbon

Question 11

how will raising the price of carbon affect the consumers?

Answer 11

Provides signals to consumers about which goods and services aremore carbon intensive

Question 12

how will raising the price of carbon affect the producers?

Answer 12

Provides signals to producers about which inputs are carbon intensive Provides incentives for inventors and innovators to develop low carbon products and technologies

Question 13

what factors determines the willingness of public to pay a carbon tax?

Answer 13

1. What happens to revenue — unpopular if goes to general government budget (BUT Sweden!). More acceptable if targeted at green infrastructure spending, hard hit communities, or lump sum tax rebates
2. Public trust in politicians and levels of corruption

Question 14

what are the three qualities the global policy response must have?

Answer 14

it must be:
effective- policies adopted on an international stage
efficient - reduce the green house gas emissions at the least cost
equitable - burden of adjustment shared equitably between nations and generations

Question 15

what is the enviromental Kuznets curve?

Answer 15

there is some evidence of an inverted u shape relationship between GDP per capita and the wider environmental degradation

Question 16

what are examples where there is clear evidence of the environmental kuznets curve?

Answer 16

in heavy metal emmissons

Question 17

where is there not so clear evidence of the environmental kuznets curve?

Answer 17

in co2 emissions

Question 18

what is the trend for global co2 emissions relative to GDP?

Answer 18

there is a negative trend which means there is falling carbon intensity

Question 19

what are the demographic good news?

Answer 19

Rising Life Expectancy
Falling Infant & Child Mortality
Falling Disease Level (Covid-19 excepted)
Rising Demographic Dividends in Developing Countries

Question 20

what is the trend of life expectancy and income?

Answer 20

there is a postive trend between LE and income

Question 21

what is the preston curve and how has it evolved?

Answer 21

it is a trend between life expectancy and per capita GDP and it grows rapidly at beginning but then flattens off. the curve has shifted upwards over time.

Question 22

what is the demographic dividend?

Answer 22

A demographic dividend refers to the growth in an economy that is the result of a change in the age structure of a country’s population. The change in age structure is typically brought on by a decline in fertility and mortality rates.

Question 23

What is the trend of technological development?

Answer 23

the growth of technology has been acclerating

Question 24

what is needed for productivity growth?

Answer 24

a rise in the growth of technology and efficiency are vital for productivity growth due to the diminishing marginal returns to capital

Question 25

what are conclusions about the future of the international economy?

Answer 25

The capacity to adapt and prevent has been increasing over time
As resources are depleted, the efficiency with which we use them has increased exponentially
Technological progress has the potential to solve the major issues in the world in ways that would have been unimaginable only half a century ago!