Decomposition Analysis of Four Selected Asian Countries

The rapidly growth of China's economy is accelerating its materialization process which is creating serious environmental problems. The comparison of material flow indications such as Domestic Material Consumption (DMC) among China, India, Japan and South Korea is important for developing countries to borrow ideas from developed countries. This article examines the driving factors that have changed recent DMC in these four selected Asian countries during 1970-2008, using a decomposition method. Three influential factors of DMC are set: Population, Affluence, and Material-consumption intensity. The decomposition analysis of materialization processes among these four countries is conducted, and suggestions based on it are provided at last.