Waste-heat and economic growth in the very long run

Chadwick C. Curtis and Steven Lugauer

Economics Letters, 2025, vol. 254, issue C

Abstract: This paper presents a model of economic growth that incorporates production damages due to waste-heat. Our approach builds from the models developed to study how carbon emissions impact the economy; however, the direct waste-heat channel that we consider is distinct from the on-going greenhouse gas induced climate change. If energy use continues to rise exponentially with economic growth, then direct heat also has the potential to elevate global temperatures. In the model, sustained economic growth continues in the long run only if something is done about this waste-heat.

Keywords: Climate change; Economic growth; Stefan–Boltzmann law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O44 Q54 Q55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:254:y:2025:i:c:s0165176525003040

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112467

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