A Microeconomic Application of the Metabolic Rift Theory: Working Conditions, Income and Consumption-Based Emissions

Do working conditions determine consumption-based emissions? This article develops a microeconomic framework that integrates Marx’s metabolic rift theory, world ecology, and Marx’s labor process theory to analyze the relationship between income, working conditions, and consumption based-emissions. The framework introduces a metabolic parameter to model a U-shaped relationship between consumption-based emissions and income, where emissions initially decrease with rising income before increasing beyond a turning point. Additionally, this metabolic parameter integrates working conditions, a proxy for worker stress, pressure, exhaustion, and alienation, which shape the relationship between income and consumption-based emissions. Exhaustive working conditions drive higher emissions through convenience-focused consumption, while improved working conditions may increase discretionary consumption among high-earning workers. These theoretical insights highlight the dual impact of working conditions and open pathways for empirical research on labor, consumption, and ecological sustainability. JEL Classification : C6, D3, B5, P1