Population growth in polluting industrialization

摘要

Recently, many contributions have focused on the relationshipbetween capital level, growth and population dynamics, introduc-ing fertility choice in macro-dynamic models. In this paper, wego one step further highlighting also the link with pollution. Wedevelop a simple overlapping generations model with paternalis-tic altruism according to wealth and environmental concerns. Onecan therefore explain a simultaneous increase in capital intensity,population growth and pollution, namely a polluting industrializa-tion. We show in addition that a permanent productivity shock,possibly associated to technological innovations, promotes such apolluting development process, escaping a trap where the economyis relegated to low levels of capital intensity, population growth andpollution.