NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
➤ Gửi thông báo lỗi ⚠️ Báo cáo tài liệu vi phạmNội dung chi tiết: NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT*Michael Harris and Iain FraserDepartment of Economics and Finance La Trobe Un NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTniversity MelbourneVictoria, 308637196AbstractIn this paper an extensive review of the theoretical and applied literature on NRA is provided. The review begins by explaining the economic theory that underpins NRA, contrasting welfare and sustainability as policy goals, and presenting various distinc NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTt conceptions of national income. The state of play regarding official revisions to the system of national accounts (SNA) with respect to natural resoNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
urces and the environment is presented and controversial areas are highlighted. Finally, the economic literature on proposed revisions, and applied stNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT*Michael Harris and Iain FraserDepartment of Economics and Finance La Trobe Un NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTions, and that typical case studies produce results that are ambiguous in interpretation. Moreover, we highlight fundamental tensions between economic theory and national accounting methodology, and conclude that one outcome of this has been insufficient attention paid by economists to the revisions NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT to the SNA, instead devoting time and effort to “freelance" NRA case studies utilising sometimes ad hoc methods from the economic literature.Key WardNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
s: Natural Resource Accounting, National Income, Resource Management, Welfare, Sustainability1Introduction■ The authors wish to thank Hany Clarke. GeoNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT*Michael Harris and Iain FraserDepartment of Economics and Finance La Trobe Un NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTwes much to them. As usual, all deficiencies remain the property of the authors.https://khothuvien.cori!“There is a dangerous asymmetry in the way we measure...the value of natural resources... A country could exhaust its mineral resources, cut down its forests, erode its soils, pollute its aquifers NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT, and hunt its wildlife to extinction, but measured income would rise steadily as these assets disappeared." (Repetto 1988, p.2)Economic activity inevNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
itably entails interaction with the environment, either as resource use. as a sink for waste assimilation or as a source of amenity value. TraditionalNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT*Michael Harris and Iain FraserDepartment of Economics and Finance La Trobe Un NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTunts (SNA), are recognised as being inadequate in terms of accurately measuring the contribution of, and impact on, the environment. Specifically, costs of environmental degradation and natural resource depletion, and non-market amenity values are not included. Furthermore, defensive expenditures de NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTsigned to offset pollution are counted as additions to GDP/NDP.2 3Thus the present measures of economic performance that are given primary importanceNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
in public policy formation and debate can provide misleading information on which to base decision making. Variables that contribute to economic well NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT*Michael Harris and Iain FraserDepartment of Economics and Finance La Trobe Un NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTurrent and future standards of living. Hence environmental adjustments to the SNA and more broadly the introduction of Natural Resource Accounting (NRA) are advocated on the basis of removing the current biases.Reviewing the main proposals for adjusting the accounts to rectify these biases is a keyp NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTurpose of this paper. However, there are more analytic questions of interest than simply how the accounts should be modified. Why they should be modifNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
ied also deserves attention. There are two questions here which are relatively under-researched: what are we trying to measure? and what effect will tNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT*Michael Harris and Iain FraserDepartment of Economics and Finance La Trobe Un NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTes. With the second question we are examining how improved accounting practices are thought to lead to improved choices and better outcomes. In this paper we focus on the first question as opposed to the second because this has been the focus of the bulk of the existing literature. However, we note NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTthat the role of biased accounts in •‘misguiding” policy, and the possibility for policy improvements resulting from changing the accounting system inNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
particular directions is an under-researched topic. Deficiencies and disagreements1The literature often refers to net and gross national product (NNPNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT*Michael Harris and Iain FraserDepartment of Economics and Finance La Trobe Un NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTtal resources.3For an early discussion of the discrepancies between GDP and a welfare index see Denison (1972).2in the NRA literature may in part be attributed to inadequate attention to the underlying policy questions that should have been posed in the first place.One key feature of the NRA literat NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTure, stressed in this review, is its paradigmatic diversity. The literature is contributed to by economic theorists; by applied economists; by ecologiNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
cal economists; and by national accountants. As a result, concepts, assumptions and terminology vary throughout the literature yielding tensions and iNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT*Michael Harris and Iain FraserDepartment of Economics and Finance La Trobe Un NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENThould in turn inform applied researchers. However, the various areas of work are not well integrated at all. In some cases, linkages between them barely exist, and in others there are significant tensions or conflicts. Evidence of cross-purpose confusion arises in the terminology used. The banner of NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT NRA includes "resource accounting”, "environmental accounting", and "Green GDP”. Sometimes they are interchangeable and other times they are separateNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
and distinct processes or measures.4The structure of this paper is as follows. We proceed from an examination of the theoretical underpinnings (SectiNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT*Michael Harris and Iain FraserDepartment of Economics and Finance La Trobe Un NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTual aspects and policy objectives of NRA. which are bound up (we contend) with arguments about how to define and measure well-being and sustainability. Section 3 presents a detailed discussion of income and growth, arguing that there Is not one all-encompassing definition of income suitable for all NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTpurposes: In fact, part of the difficulty in the area involves how best to reconcile ex post income measures with ex ante income concepts. Section 4 tNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
hen covers changes in official national accounting with regard to resources and the environment. Section 5 presents an overview of the economic literaNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT*Michael Harris and Iain FraserDepartment of Economics and Finance La Trobe Un NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT Are We TYying to Measure, and Why?“Do changes in national income and product over time or differences among nations really measure appropriately changes and differences in 'well-being'or. perhaps more to the point, 'economic well-being’? Do4Resource accounting sometimes refers to a limited approach NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT using satellite accounts where natural resources ate measured, sometimes in purely physical terms, while the main monetary aggregates (particularly GNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
DP) remain unmodified. Environmental accounting can refer to adjustments reflecting pollution or changes in environmental amenities, while "Green GDP"NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT*Michael Harris and Iain FraserDepartment of Economics and Finance La Trobe Un NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTion, their cyclical fluctuations, and their allocation to current consumption and accumulation of capital for the future? ...Do our measures really fit the theoretical constructs they are presumed to serve?" (Eisner, 1988, p. 1612.)2.1 Exposing SNA Shortcomings Raises Further QuestionsConventionally NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT measured GDP Is constructed as a measure of the output of the market sector, yet in its interpretation as a nation’s income, it is often presented asNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
a measure of standards of living, and thus as a proxy for social welfare. However, conventionally measured GDP has serious deficiencies as a measure NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT*Michael Harris and Iain FraserDepartment of Economics and Finance La Trobe Un NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTent income flows can be depleted without any corresponding adjustment to account for this depletion, thus treating reductions in wealth as Increases in income. Environmental assets in situ may be degraded due to economic activity, resulting in a reduction in social welfare, also without any correspo NATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENTnding adjustment being made in the accounts.Yet simply identifying ••obvious" gaps in the SNA is only one analytical step. Other analytical questionsNATURAL RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
remain, which we will use to frame the subsequent discussion In this survey. In particular, we will focus on two main questions.5The first is: what arGọi ngay
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