The green economy and post-growth regimes: opportunities and challenges for economic geography

While mainstream economic geography is doing
increasing research on green manufacturing and services, with a
few notable exceptions, its predominant conceptual approaches to
emerging modes of economic orientation continue to examine economic
transitions somewhat unreflexively within the context of traditional
growth paradigms. The aim of this article is to explore and
critically examine neoliberal discourses on the green economy and
smart growth by exploring contributions to debates on green economics
proposed by ideas linked to post-growth economies. Based
on studies by scholars such as Tim Jackson and Serge Latouche, the
article examines the contours of debates on post-growth, décroissance
(de-growth) and prosperity without growth. We begin by examining
growth debates and existing contributions by economic
and other geographers to the exploration of alternatives to conventional
growth-centred economics. We then identify some emergent
spatial facets of post-growth transitions and utilize these to
explore potential research topics and opportunities for empirical
and conceptual contributions by economic geographers to academic
and societal debates on economic transitions and post-growth
paradigms. Particular attention is paid to approaches currently discussed
in economic geography, such as socio-technical transition
studies.