Ecologically unequal exchange and the carbon intensity of well-being, 1990–2011

Givens, Jennifer E.

doi:10.1080/23251042.2018.1436878

Cited by 44 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…While the analysis in our study focuses on homicide rates, we reiterate that quantitative sociologists in other areas use the same cross-national data sets in their analyses [3]. On that note, given the growing interest in the link between crime and sustainable development [4,8], we emphasize the relevance of our study for cross-national sustainability scholarship [3,[30][31][32][33]. Like cross-national homicide studies, much of the quantitative environmental scholarship, with few exceptions [34,35], also handles missing values by way of listwise deletion, which we discuss in greater detail below.…”

Section: Summary and Synthesismentioning

confidence: 83%

Homicide Rates and the Multiple Dimensions of Urbanization: A Longitudinal, Cross-National Analysis

2019

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Sustainability scholars frame urbanization as a multidimensional concept with divergent environmental impacts. Through synthesizing recent quantitative studies of urbanization in criminology, we evaluated this multidimensional framework in a longitudinal, cross-national analysis of homicide rates for 217 countries between 2000 and 2015. For the analysis, we also highlighted the issue of missing data, a common concern for cross-national scholars in a variety of disciplines. While controlling for other relevant factors, we compared results from panel models that use the common technique of listwise deletion (n = 113) and from structural equation models (SEM) that handle missing values with full information maximum likelihood (n = 216). While the estimates for the control variables are non-significant in the SEM approach, the findings for the urbanization variables were robust and multidimensional. In particular, while the proportion of the population that is urban is positively related to homicide, the proportion of the population living in large cities of at least one million inhabitants is significantly and negatively related to homicide in all models. Given our focus on urbanization, we outline our contribution not only in the context of criminology but also the cross-national sustainability literature, which often uses similar variables with missing values.

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Section: Summary and Synthesismentioning

confidence: 83%

Homicide Rates and the Multiple Dimensions of Urbanization: A Longitudinal, Cross-National Analysis

2019

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“…CIWB is typically measured as a ratio between per capita carbon emissions (numerator) and average life expectancy at birth (denominator). In an analysis of nations' CIWB, Givens () also finds support for EUE: The vertical flow of exports to higher income nations in the Global North increases the CIWB for Global South nations, and is increasing so through time. In other words, EUE makes it more carbon intensive for Global South nations to create well‐being for their populations, and this relationship is intensifying through time.…”

Section: The Globally Unequal Distribution Of Environmental Harmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecologically unequal exchange: A theory of global environmental injustice

2019

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In this article, we review the theory of ecologically unequal exchange and its relevance for global environmental injustice. According to this theory, global political–economic factors, especially the structure of international trade, shape the unequal distribution of environmental harms and human development; wealthier and more powerful Global North nations have disproportionate access to both natural resources and sink capacity for waste in Global South nations. We discuss how the theory has roots in multiple perspectives on development, world‐systems analysis, environmental sociology, and ecological economics. We detail research that tests hypotheses derived from ecological unequal exchange theory on several environmental harms, including deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and water pollution as well as related human well‐being outcomes. We also discuss research on social forces that counter the harmful impacts of ecologically unequal exchange, including institutions, organizations, and environmental justice movements. We suggest that ecologically unequal exchange theory provides an important global political–economic approach for research in environmental sociology and other environmental social sciences as well as for sustainability studies more broadly.

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“…In terms of "for whom, " social scientists, especially sociologists, are likely to highlight the roles of inequality and power in systems (Roberts and Parks, 2006;Jorgenson and Clark, 2009;Jorgenson, 2016;Givens, 2018). Lockie (2015: p. 139) writes, "the pollution that makes some people wealthy makes other people sick, threatens their livelihoods, and increases their risk of injury and displacement."…”

Section: Social Justice Considerations-resilience For Whom and Of What?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such approaches and metrics of well-being are particularly well-suited to quantify a variety of system inequalities. Metrics include the environmental efficiency of well-being (Dietz et al, 2009;Knight and Rosa, 2011), environmental or ecological intensity of well-being (Dietz et al, 2012;Jorgenson and Dietz, 2015), energy intensity of wellbeing (Jorgenson et al, 2014), and carbon intensity of wellbeing (CIWB) (Jorgenson, 2014;Jorgenson and Givens, 2015;Givens, 2017Givens, , 2018. While these metrics are comparable across large geographic areas, there are many efforts to develop wellbeing focused indicators and indices at various scales.…”

Section: Metricsmentioning

confidence: 99%