Degrowth and the Global South: The twin problem of global dependencies

Claudius Gräbner-Radkowitsch and Birte Strunk

Ecological Economics, 2023, vol. 213, issue C

Abstract: We conduct a systematic literature review comprising both a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the academic degrowth literature considering the Global South, and delineate substantive and methodological implications for future research. We find two main narratives: one stressing synergies, i.e. commonalities among Global South and Global North perspectives on degrowth, and another highlighting challenges, i.e. a constructive discussion of a range of challenges that emerge in this context. Our review reveals, inter alia, that the existing literature focuses mainly on the synergy narrative, and that there is a strong focus on theoretical and qualitative methodology. We argue that future research might want to put more emphasis on the investigation of structural dependencies between the North and South, using a broader methodological toolkit than so far. Only then one can effectively address what we call the ‘twin problem of global dependencies’: the fact that within the current institutional framework, these dependencies are a motivation for and a potential obstacle to degrowth at the same time.

Keywords: Degrowth; Global South; Structural dependencies; Decolonization; Development; Post-Development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Working Paper: Degrowth and the Global South: the twin problem of global dependencies (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:213:y:2023:i:c:s0921800923002094

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.107946

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