Is Economic Growth Always Desirable?

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Is economic growth always desirable? Let’s start by defining what economic growth actually means: it is the expansion of an economy’s productive potential trend. There can also be short run growth such as a percentage annual increase in a country’s real GDP, using up existing space capacity and an increase in the rate of factor utilisation. For economic growth to take place there must be an expansion of the supply of factor inputs, improvements in production technology and increased factor productivity but economic growth is also highly beneficial; long term economic growth means that there will be higher employment rates, higher living standards (as long as it is higher than popular growth), there will be higher tax revenue and lower spending on transfer payments meaning there will be more available to spend on public services, it will likely stimulate research and development and will also cause a positive multiplier effect in the economy. Economic growth can also be beneficial to the environment due to people being able to afford more eco-friendly goods, such as cleaner fuels like natural gas. As income rises, birth rates tend to fall due to families not relying on having children; richer countries can afford more research and development to protect the environment. Of course so far long term economic growth looks like what every country should aim for, however the consequences of economic growth must also be considered. For example, economic growth leads to inflation due to more money circulating the economy, because the currency supply is inflated the less that each unit of currency is worth, which results in prices going up. Economic growth often uses up non-renewable resources and may not be sustainable; it also can cause negative externalities such as more pollution and congestion due to people being able to afford more goods and cars. The environment

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