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Green growth: economic theory and political discourse / Michael Jacobs. Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science, October 2012, 23 p. (CCCEP Working Paper No. 108 ; Grantham Working Paper No. 92) http://www2.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/publications/WorkingPapers/Working%20Papers/90-99/WP92-green-growth-economic-theory-political-discourse.pdfThe concept of green growth has burst onto the international policy scene in the past four years.  Identifying the core meaning of the concept and sister terms such as ‘green economy’, this paper locates green growth within the longer tradition of environmental discourses, notably that of sustainable development.  The paper distinguishes between a ‘standard’ version of green growth, which asserts the long-run economic benefit of environmental protection, and a ‘strong’ interpretation which claims, more boldly, that environmental policy can be a driver for growth.  Three different forms of this claim are identified and the evidence for them surveyed.  The first is a Keynesian argument for short-term ‘green stimulus’ in times of recession. Second, a revision of standard growth theory identifies the contribution made to growth by investment in natural capital and the correction of a variety of market failures through environmental policy.  Third, the theories of comparative advantage and long waves of capitalism emphasise the importance of technological innovation in generating growth.  The paper discusses the political economy of green growth – the economic and social forces ranged in favour of and against it – and examines how likely it is to succeed in increasing the priority given to environmental policy in tough economic times. (© Michael Jacobs)