On the Precedence of Constraints on Growth: Advocating the Ecological Footprint Perspective

Abstract

Our goal is to propose the ecological footprint as the first growth restriction that currently faces the Mexican economy. To capture the attention of both orthodox and heterodox economists, we will analyze three restrictions on growth, namely, on the supply, demand, and biocapacity side. Our first recommendation highlights the need for Mexico to fully redesign its public policies in order to substantially improve its results in terms of environmental sustainability hand in hand with a much better distribution of income and wealth. A limitation lies in the review of only the neoclassical and post-Keynesian growth theories, involving a personal selection from the literature. As far as we know, this document represents the first study that incorporates within the theories of economic growth the restriction linked to biocapacity and the ecological footprint in Mexico. The main conclusion constitutes a local echo of world literature −the immediate challenge facing Mexico and other societies is to make any economic-social result compatible with a single earth planet.