It depends: Varieties of defining growth dependence

Anja Janischewski, Katharina Bohnenberger, Matthias Kranke, Tobias Vogel, Riwan Driouich, Tobias Froese, Stefanie Gerold, Raphael Kaufmann, Lorenz Keyßer, Jannis Niethammer, Christopher Olk, Matthias Schmelzer, Aslı Yürük and Steffen Lange
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Anja Janischewski: Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany
Katharina Bohnenberger: German Institute for Interdisciplinary Social Policy Research, University of Bremen, SOCIUM, Institute for Socio-Economics, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Matthias Kranke: Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), University of Freiburg, Germany
Tobias Vogel: Department for Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Fakulty of Economy and Society, Witten/Herdecke University, Germany
Riwan Driouich: Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain
Tobias Froese: Chair for Corporate Sustainability, ESCP Business School, Germany
Stefanie Gerold: Institute of Philosophy and Social Science, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany
Raphael Kaufmann: ZOE Institute for Future-Fit Economies, Germany
Lorenz Keyßer: Institute of Geography and Sustainability, Faculty of Geosciences and Environment, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Jannis Niethammer: ICLEI European Secretariat, Germany
Christopher Olk: Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Matthias Schmelzer: Norbert-Elias-Center for Transformation Design and Research, University of Flensburg, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany
Aslı Yürük: Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory (TURBA), Universitat Oberta Catalunya, Spain
Steffen Lange: Centre for Pluralist Economics, University of Siegen, Germany

No 64, Chemnitz Economic Papers from Department of Economics, Chemnitz University of Technology

Abstract: Many socio-economic systems require positive economic growth rates to function properly. Given uncertainty about future growth rates and increasing evidence that economic growth is a driver of social and environmental crises, these growth dependencies pose serious societal challenges. In recent years, more and more researchers have thus tried to identify growth-dependent systems and develop policies to reduce their growth dependence. However, the concept of "growth dependence" still lacks a consistent definition and operationalization, which impedes more systematic empirical and theoretical research. This article proposes a simple but powerful framework for defining and operationalizing the concept of "growth dependence" across socio-economic systems. We provide a general definition consisting of four components that can be specified for different empirical cases: (1) the system under investigation, (2) the unit of measurement of growth, (3) the level of growth and (4) the relevant functions or properties of the system under investigation. According to our general definition, a socio-economic system is growth-dependent if it requires a long-term positive growth rate in terms of a unit of economic measurement to maintain all its functions or properties that are relevant within the chosen normative framework. To illustrate the usefulness of our scheme, we apply it to three areas at the heart of the existing literature on growth dependence: employment, social insurance systems and public finance. These case studies demonstrate that whether or not a system is growth-dependent hinges not only on the empirical properties of the system itself but also on the specification of the concept of growth dependence. Our framework enables coherent, robust and effective definitions and research questions, fostering comparability of findings across different cases and disciplines. Better research can lead to better policies for reducing growth dependence and thus achieving stable and sustainable economies.

Keywords: growth dependence; growth independence; post-growth; green growth; degrowth; growth imperative
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Pages: 24 pages
Date: 2024-09
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Published in Chemnitz Economic Papers, September 2024, pages 1-24

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