What are the two main costs of economic growth
The two main costs of economic growth are resource depletion and environmental damage.
- Economic activity needs factor inputs and will often lead to scarce resources like fossil fuels being consumed and lost forever because they cannot be changed.
- Environmental damage happens when the production process makes harmful toxics, gases and waste in the course of making consumer and capital goods. This has also been called the paradox of prosperity, as human living standards improve as a result of greater access to consumer goods but decline as a result of environmental destruction, poorer air quality and polluted water supplies.