This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Liodakis, G. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Environmental Implications of International Trade and Uneven Development: Toward a Critique of Environmental Economics

Department of Sciences, Technical University of Crete, 73 100 Chania, Greece; Tel: (30) 821-69548; Fax: (30) 821-69522; liod{at}science.tuc.gr

The main premises and the environmental implications of neoclassical trade theory and environmental economics are put under Marxist scrutiny. An attempt is then made to develop an alternative Marxist approach in investigating the specific significance of the capitalist mode of production and, more specifically, the environmental implications of international trade and uneven development. As argued, environmental degradation is largely the result of capitalist development and not of "underdevelopment" or poverty in Southern countries. It is further argued that international trade is ruled by absolute and not comparative advantage. This has important environmental implications insofar as the non-optimal effects of specialization, in terms of resource use, and the imbalancing effects of free trade tend to exacerbate the environmental problem.

Key Words: Environment • International trade theory • Marx • Uneven development

Review of Radical Political Economics, Vol. 32, No. 1, 40-79 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/048661340003200102


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?