Decomposing Models of Demographic Impact on the Environment

Wexler, L. (1996). Decomposing Models of Demographic Impact on the Environment. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-96-085

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Abstract

Demographic Impact (DI) models are multiplicative identities used to decompose environmental impacts into components due to population, economic and technological change. While such decompositions have played an important role in the population-environment literature, inconsistent and ambiguous methods have made their results difficult to interpret and nearly impossible to compare. This paper demonstrates and clarifies the differences between these methods using the example of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

This paper locates two distinct approaches to DI model decomposition: The annual growth rate decomposition and the multiplicative decomposition. Stable indices are provided for each approach. Finally, the Divisia Index -- a common price index used by economists -- is suggested as an appropriate method to aggregate DI model results.

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