Title: Technological progress towards sustainable development

Authors: Soumyananda Dinda

Addresses: Department of Economics and International Development, University of Bath, Bath, UK

Abstract: Technological innovation undoubtedly increases productivity and simultaneously it also creates potential dangers to society, which are unknown at the early phase of the adoption of technology. As soon as externalities are identified, social institutions formulate laws and regulations to arrest harmful externalities. The social institutions create the conditions for innovation. New generation of technology may produce new externalities. Thus, a cyclical pattern arises in which technology first diffuse, then become regulated and finally is phased out by another new technology.

Keywords: technological innovation; technology diffusion; environmental pollution; envelope; EKC; environmental Kuznets curve; sustainable development; sustainability.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2009.022092

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2009 Vol.9 No.1/2, pp.145 - 150

Published online: 18 Dec 2008 *

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