Linking society and nature: Material flows and the resource nexus

Anke Schaffartzik*, Dominik Wiedenhofer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Book/Report typesChapterpeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

This chapter introduces the standardized economy-wide material flow accounting (ew-MFA) indicators. In ew-MFA, the socio-economic system is commonly defined to include humans, their artefacts, and livestock. Ew-MFA focuses on the flows into and out of the socio-economic system, treating the transformation or integration within the system as balancing items. Synergies between ew-MFA studies and resource nexus research can often be traced back to the common interest in the two approaches in analytically bridging the perceived disconnect between societies and the resource base. In an analogy to the metabolism of a living organism, the concept of social metabolism proposes that a society requires material and energy inputs which it processes and assimilates for the purposes of societal reproduction and then discharges as wastes or emissions. The material productivity indicator requires us to examine not only the economic performance of an economy but also the associated material use.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationRoutledge Handbook of the Resource Nexus
EditorsRaimund Bleischwitz, Holger Hoff, Catalina Spataru, Ester van der Voet, Stacy D. VanDeveer
PublisherTaylor and Francis
Pages79-92
Number of pages14
ISBN (Electronic)9781315560625
ISBN (Print)9781138675490
DOIs
StatePublished - 14 Dec 2017
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Linking society and nature: Material flows and the resource nexus'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this