The monetary dimension of ecological damage in the Global South

Bibliographic Data

ID19217645
AuthorsOsama Diab (0000-0002-3650-146X, KU Leuven, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume47
Issue13
Pages1-12
Publication date2026-05-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThird World Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0143-6597 • E-ISSN: 1360-2241
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01436597.2026.2663082
OpenAlexW7161032933
LanguageEN
References cited25

This article compares the ecological and labour intensity of exports from high-income countries (HIC) and low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) per €1 million of exports. Results reveal that LMIC exports carry 27 times more ecological harm per €1 million than HIC exports. Similarly, LMICs must expend 13.5 h of labour to acquire just 1 h of labour from HICs through international trade. This per-monetary-unit approach expands our understanding of resource transfers through international trade, as it demonstrates how undervaluation policies in LMICs drive far greater environmental harms and labour effort. It also allows for a sectoral analysis that offers a more policy-relevant perspective than typical resource transfer approaches. These include how export cuts of specific commodities could enable LMICs to simultaneously increase revenues, increase resource and labour productivity, and reduce the degradation of their ecosystem

Dimension (graph theory) · Global South · South asia · Third world · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Environmental Conservation and Management · Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy

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