The profile of time allocation in the metabolic pattern of society : an internal biophysical limit to economic growth
Manfroni, Michele (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Velasco-Fernández, Raúl (Institut d'Estudis Regionals i Metropolitans de Barcelona)
Pérez-Sánchez, Laura (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Bukkens, Sandra (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Giampietro, Mario (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Date:	2021
Description:	15 pàg.
Abstract:	We show that shortage of human activity may represent an internal constraint to economic growth as relevant as external resource and sink constraints. Human time is required, both inside and outside the market, to produce and consume the goods and services needed to sustain societal metabolism. The time allocation profile is therefore an emergent property of the societal metabolic pattern. When most time is invested in services and final consumption rather than supplying the inputs required by the metabolic process, further growth is constrained. This problem may be temporarily overcome by three strategies: (i) increasing capital investment to boost labor productivity in the productive sectors; (ii) externalizing the requirement of working hours through imports of goods and services; (iii) importing economically active population through immigration. Each strategy is illustrated with an empirical example: (i) a comparison of the evolution of the profile of time and capital allocation between China and the EU;(ii) an assessment of the labor hours embodied in EU imports; (iii) an analysis of demographic changes in response to immigration in Spain. While these strategies can temporarily overcome constraints to economic growth at the national level, they do not represent a long-term solution at the global level.
Grants:	European Commission 689669 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEX2019-000940-M Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2019/FI_B 01317 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2018/FI_B 00313
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Note:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Energy ; Human activity ; MuSIASEM ; Social practices ; Societal metabolism ; Sustainability ; Sustainable production and consumption
Published in:	Ecological economics, Vol. 190 (Dec. 2021) , art. 107183, ISSN 0921-8009

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107183

15 p, 2.6 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles