New post up on my other blog: http://eddiemill.wordpress.com/ on factor endowments and resource intensity.
From the UN Green Jobs Report:
For a long time, it was an article of faith among economists that energy and materials consumption
moved in lockstep with the gross national product, meaning that reduced resource use (or, for
that matter, undue market intervention in the form of environmental regulations and mandates)
equaled lower growth and less employment. But this direct link has been broken as far as energy
use is concerned, and it is no longer as strong as it once was for materials use.
Harking back to the early days of the Industrial Revolution, businesses have sought to economize
on their use of labor. Labor—and especially skilled labor—was scarce, but land and natural
resources seemed inexhaustible. In today’s globalizing economy, slashing labor costs is still seen
as a key means to stay competitive. While companies have emphasized raising labor productivity,
far less attention has been given to energy and materials productivity. Indeed, when economists
refer to productivity, it is often implied that they mean labor productivity.
U.S. data show that labor productivity in manufacturing more than tripled between 1950 and
2000. Energy productivity, however, was only marginally higher than in 1950, having declined until
the early 1970s when rising oil prices helped bring about more efficient production methods. U.S.
materials productivity, too, is barely higher now than it was in 1950."
Does this have you wondering?
"A Global Organic Mindset"
http://eddiemill.wordpress.com/
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