The Political Economy of the Water Footprint: A Cross-National Analysis of Ecologically Unequal Exchange

Jared B. Fitzgerald and Daniel Auerbach
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Jared B. Fitzgerald: Department of Sociology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
Daniel Auerbach: Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Water scarcity is an important social and ecological issue that is becoming increasingly problematic with the onset of climate change. This study explores the extent to which water resources in developing countries are affected by the vertical flow of exports to high-income countries. In examining this question, the authors engage the sociological theory of ecologically unequal exchange, which argues that high-income countries are able to partially externalize the environmental costs of their consumption to lower-income countries. The authors use a relatively new and underutilized measure of water usage, the water footprint, which quantifies the amount of water used in the entire production process. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and robust regression techniques are employed in the cross-national analysis of 138 countries. The results provide partial support of the propositions of ecologically unequal exchange theory. In particular, the results highlight the importance of structural position in the global economy for understanding the effects of trade on water resources.

Keywords: environment; ecologically unequal exchange; development; water; water footprint; globalization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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