Crescimento econômico e tendências sociometabólicas: um olhar para a China no período 1970-2019

Abstract

This monograph investigates the Chinese economic and biophysical dynamics in the period 1970-2019, and analyzes the potential for dematerialization (decoupling) and sustainability of the economic growth process in this country. This research used the theoretical approach of Ecological Economics, whose main assumption is the biophysical interpretation of the economic system, considering it as a subsystem of the environment. From the methodological point of view, the material flow accounting tool was used, whose basic principle is the accounting of tangible of matter and energy flows between natural, social, and economic systems. Studies such as these are important as they can reveal the (un)sustainable nature of socio-economic developments in countries, supporting economic and environmental policies aimed at improving the environmental performance of economies. The general results showed a link between the economic-ecological dynamics in China, with a trend towards greater efficiency of matter and energy in the analyzed period. For the last decade, however, the results show a lower intensity in the decoupling.