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Resource Flows

The material basis of industrial economies

Constructs a parallel set of national accounts in physical terms using material flow analysis; proposes new summary measures that can be used with economic indicators to give a far more accurate sense of the scale and consequences of industrial activity.

Executive Summary

Currently, countries measure their economic growth and performance through the System of National Accounts (SNA). These financial accounts measure the total economic transactions in an economy. Indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) provide information on whether national income is growing or declining. There is no equivalent system for measuring the physical "transactions" in an economy. Policy- and other decision-makers have very little idea of the material requirements of modern economies and few indicators of where, or when, physical constraints are likely to be reached. With the exception of energy efficiency (a strategic resource), very little official attention is paid to the relationship between resource requirements and economic output. Examining material flows in Austria, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, and the United States, this report develops model accounts of the complete " material cycle" or the flow of raw materials through the processes of extraction, production, use, and disposal. The report also documents:



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