Unlike traditional growth models, agrowth emphasises that growth is neither inherently good nor bad. Its value depends on societal and environmental contexts. Read part two of our look at this lesser known model.

Read Agrowth: The Agnostic Approach – Part One here.

 THE “AGROWTH MENTALITY” TRANSITION WORTH A TRY? 

Below are the adoptable strategies that Professor Jeroen van den Bergh, a leading proponent of agrowth, suggests: 

• Systematically address the shortcomings of GDP in all levels of education. 

• Challenge the habitual focus on growth in journalism, policy, and politics. 

• Encourage societal debate on the unproductive “pro vs. anti-growth” framing. 

• Replace GDP with a welfare index (Hoekstra, 2019) and consider the role of the UN. 

• Until a full shift is made, report median (not average) GDP, and ensure media and government reports always complement GDP with information on inequality and environmental impacts. 

• Weaken the positive correlation between growth and employment through work-time reduction. 

• Make leaders of developing nations aware that the agrowth strategy creates space for them by facilitating less growth in rich nations and addressing climate change. 

• Push organizations like the IMF, OECD, and World Bank to accept a shift toward the agrowth paradigm. 

• Overall stress that agrowth creates political space to better balance different components of social welfare while supporting serious environmental policies.  

Currently, most politicians fear acting on climate policies due to concerns over low growth. Bergh argues that this nervousness about low growth “will only strengthen their fears and likely reduce policy support” if degrowth is presented as the primary solution. 

The ‘green growth tale’ has failed to convince, while the ‘degrowth tale’ is imprecise, quixotic, idealistic, risky, and impractical. Let’s try green agrowth for a change.” 

Main critiques

The model has garnered some critiques primarily centered around its perceived neutrality toward economic growth. There are concerns about it falling short in mitigating climate change. Critics argue that by being indifferent to growth, agrowth might fail to address the urgency of economic and environmental crises.

Additionally, while it avoids the extremes of “growth” and “degrowth,” some believe agrowth lacks clear implementation strategies, especially in economies where growth is intertwined with poverty alleviation. Others point out the difficulty of convincing policymakers to adopt a position that doesn’t prioritize GDP growth. 

How does population growth factor into agrowth?

Population growth plays a critical role in the agrowth model, especially when addressing issues like resource consumption, climate change and social equity. Agrowth is “consistent with diversity of economic and population growth strategies, for low/middle/high income countries”. 

Sustainability Pressure: Population growth increases demand for resources like water, energy and food. In an agrowth framework, the focus shifts from growth-driven resource extraction to meeting the needs of a growing population sustainably. Agrowth promotes policies that encourage efficient resource use, reducing the environmental impact of expanding populations. 

Social Welfare: Population growth also stresses social services such as healthcare, education and housing. Agrowth’s emphasis on wellbeing over GDP means prioritising investments in these areas to ensure the wellbeing of both present and future generations, regardless of economic growth metrics. 

Population Dynamics and Environmental Impact: Agrowth acknowledges that the relationship between population size and environmental degradation is complex. With more people comes greater pressure on ecosystems, and agrowth calls for sustainable consumption patterns, regardless of whether the economy is growing. It aligns well with efforts to stabilise population growth through voluntary, rights-based family planning and education. 

Global Inequality: Agrowth allows developing nations to focus on improving quality of life without being forced to chase growth at all costs. A great example is Costa Rica. Meanwhile, developed nations can focus on reducing consumption and mitigating environmental damage without shrinking economies. Population growth in developing nations is factored into this strategy by creating space for sustainable development in richer countries, which can ease the strain on global resources. 

Balancing economic goals with ecological limits

The agrowth model offers a pragmatic alternative to traditional economic growth paradigms. By focusing on wellbeing and environmental limits, agrowth provides a framework for balancing economic goals with ecological concerns. 

While critics argue that agrowth lacks specific implementation strategies and may also indeed scare off politicians, the model’s flexibility allows for adaptation to diverse contexts. Van den Bergh insists that policies should not be constrained by the need to either grow or degrow the economy, but instead focus on environmental protection and social welfare making agrowth a politically feasible option. 

Additionally for Bergh and other proponents, this model is unique in emphasising that population growth is key to ensuring societal and ecological systems thrive sustainably. He in fact calls for the ‘altering or weakening of social norms promoting large families.’  

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This is part two of Agrowth: The Agnostic Approach.

You can read part one here.