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Balancing Environmental Sustainability with Economic Productivity

Thomas Tribunella, Barry Friedman and Pamela Cox

The BRC Academy Journal of Business

Volume 3

Number 1

Print ISSN: 2152-8721 Online ISSN: 2152-873X

Date: March 15, 2013

First Page 183

Last Page 214

Abstract

A well-developed body of literature has detected positive effects of technology investments on economic productivity as well as economic freedom on productivity. We contribute to this literature by studying the joint effects of a nation’s technological achievement and economic freedom on environmental sustainability balanced with economic productivity. Using a sample of over 100 countries, we find that economic freedom does not enhance the effect of technology on economic productivity and environmental sustainability. In fact, we find that the standalone effect of technology is nearly as large as its interactive effect with freedom when applied to a combined measure of environmental sustainability and economic productivity.

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