Organization and Environment
Volume 25, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 3-24

Weak Ties, Labor Migration, and Environmental Impacts: Toward a Sociology of Sustainability (Article)

Chen X.* , Frank K.A. , Dietz T. , Liu J.
  • a Department of Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Saunders Hall, Campus Box 3220, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States
  • b Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
  • c Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
  • d Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States

Abstract

Debate about the substitutability of manufactured, natural, human, and social capital is at the heart of sustainability theory. Sociology can contribute to this debate by examining the processes and mechanisms by which one form of capital is substituted for another. The authors examine the substitution among different forms of capitals at China's Wolong Nature Reserve, where the consumption of an important aspect of natural capital, fuelwood, has serious consequences for the environment. The authors found that weak social ties to people in urban settings significantly increased rural-urban labor migration. Following the chain of capital substitutions, labor migration then significantly reduced fuelwood consumption. These findings indicate policies that facilitate the development of social capital between people in Wolong and people in urban areas could substantially reduce the consumption of local natural capital. Mechanisms by which different forms of capital are substituted for one another should be considered in improving global sustainability. © The Author(s) 2012.

Author Keywords

China energy Labor migration Substitution propensity score environmental impacts Sustainability natural capital Social capital

Index Keywords

sustainability labor migration Wolong Nature Reserve environmental economics China environmental impact social capital natural capital consumption behavior fuelwood Sichuan substitution
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84860534251&doi=10.1177%2f1086026611436216&partnerID=40&md5=eceeb2abdd676b36398f08ae24c67857
DOI: 10.1177/1086026611436216
ISSN: 10860266
Cited by: 25
Original Language: English