The Function of Money in Water–Energy–Food and Land Nexus

Abstract

The water–energy–food (WEF) and land nexus is a basic element of prosperity. However, the elements of WEF are not equally distributed, and the dynamics of trading drives the distribution of goods. Money controls the trading, but money is just a convention and not a stable measure. Therefore, we have used the data of gross domestic product (GDP) and the price of electricity of each country in order to convert money to stable energy units. To evaluate the role of money in the WEF nexus, we also convert all the elements of the nexus, in energy units. In addition, we observe that land is the base of WEF and is positively correlated with all of its elements. However, we find that even the richest countries are facing critical deficits in WEF. Adding the money (GDP in energy units) to the WEF nexus, the balance becomes positive and we conclude that trading is necessary for both survival and prosperity. This may be obvious, but at present, global geopolitical conflicts which use economic sanctions as a tool transform the global balance of the WEF nexus, putting the global prosperity in jeopardy.