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From time zero to infinity: transitional and long-run dynamics in capital–resource economies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2008

LUCAS BRETSCHGER  and
KAREN PITTEL
LUCAS BRETSCHGER
Affiliation:
CER-ETH Centre of Economic Research at ETH Zurich, ZUE F7, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland. Tel: +41 44 632 21 92, Fax: +41 44 632 13 62 Email: lbretschger@ethz.ch
KAREN PITTEL
Affiliation:
CER-ETH Centre of Economic Research at ETH Zurich, ZUE F12, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland. Tel: +41 44 632 06 12. Fax: +41 44 632 03 87 Email: kpittel@ethz.ch
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Abstract

It is now generally agreed that the prediction of long-run development has to include natural resource use. To focus on the long run is, however, not equivalent to the use of balanced growth assumptions. It should be kept in mind that reaching a long-run equilibrium might take considerable time. Transition phases often exhibit characteristics which differ from the long-run state of the economy, but are important for its nature.

We discuss a number of different drivers that govern the transition to the steady state, including the development of stocks, substitution possibilities, savings decisions, and institutions. Based on this theoretical evaluation, we discuss five contributions of the conference on sustainable resource use and economic dynamics (SURED 2006) included in this special issue.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 13 , Issue 6: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT , December 2008 , pp. 673 - 689
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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