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Begin New Search Topic Agriculture Publishing Institution Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University

11. Reconciling Growth and the Environment

Author:
Neva Goodwin and Jonathan Harris
Publication Date:
03-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
Macroeconomic theory and policy are strongly based on the assumption that economic growth is a fundamental goal. The environmental realities of the twenty- first century compel a reassessment of macro theory in terms of the impact of current growth patterns on planetary ecosystems.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance

12. Agriculture in a Global Perspective

Author:
Jonathan Harris
Publication Date:
02-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
In the twenty-first century, it is evident that world agricultural systems will have to supply sufficient food for a population somewhere between 7.5 and 12 billion. Projections for world agriculture in the first half of the twenty-first century very widely, largely depending on assumptions about yield growth. An investigation of the patterns of yield growth for major cereal crops offers evidence that the pattern is logistic, implying that an upper limit to yields is being approached. This pattern is consistent with ecological limits on soil fertility, water availability, and nutrient uptake. It is also evident that current agricultural production is imposing serious strains on ecosystems, with widespread soil degradation, water overdraft and pollution, and ecological impacts such as loss of biodiversity and the proliferation of resistant pest species.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Economics, and Environment

13. Community Control in a Global Economy: Lessons from Mexico's Economic Integration Process

Author:
Eliza Waters and Tim Wise
Publication Date:
02-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
The North American Free Trade Agreement appeared to promise economic growth for Mexico and improved living conditions for its people. While the Mexican economy has recovered significantly from its post-NAFTA collapse, there is mounting evidence that many of the pre-NAFTA warnings of worsening poverty and deteriorating environmental conditions were true, if exaggerated. However one interprets the statistics, there is little doubt that the economic integration process, which began a full decade before NAFTA took effect, has created a significant restructuring of the Mexican economy, with some of the country's most vulnerable residents facing the harshest conditions.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
North America