The Global Environment and the Knowledge Revolution

Abstract

Markets are a dominant force in the world economy, in many ways a force for change and progress. During the course of this century market economies have led the race for industrialization, overcoming planned economies and traditional agricultural societies. The rapid expansion of international trade during the second part of the 20th century has led to an extensive extraction of resources in developing nations, resources that are exported and consumed mostly in industrial nations and traded often at prices which are below replacement costs. This pattern of North-South trade in resources underlies the main global environmental problems we face today: biodiversity destruction and the risk of climate change. As the century turns, the market itself is evolving. Two major trends, the knowledge revolution and global environmental stress, lead to new and different types of markets involving a combination of private and public features and to new global challenges. Environmental markers and markets for knowledge-based products will play a pivotal role in the new century.