The monetary dimension of ecological damage in the Global South

This article compares the ecological and labour intensity of exports from high-income countries (HIC) and low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) per €1 million of exports. Results reveal that LMIC exports carry 27 times more ecological harm per €1 million than HIC exports. Similarly, LMICs must expend 13.5 h of labour to acquire just 1 h of labour from HICs through international trade. This per-monetary-unit approach expands our understanding of resource transfers through international trade, as it demonstrates how undervaluation policies in LMICs drive far greater environmental harms and labour effort. It also allows for a sectoral analysis that offers a more policy-relevant perspective than typical resource transfer approaches. These include how export cuts of specific commodities could enable LMICs to simultaneously increase revenues, increase resource and labour productivity, and reduce the degradation of their ecosystem.