Economic Growth by Waste Generation: the Dynamics of a Vicious Circle
Résumé
The aim of this article is to explain the overall shape of the waste stream
of durable goods in the US economy. For this purpose we construct an agent-based
model of economic growth and waste generation and compare this latter variable to
the amount of waste of durables generated in the USA between 1960 and 2008. The
model highlights a particularly vicious circle in which waste generation becomes a
positive factor of economic growth