When economic growth produces negative external consequences to the extent that the growth is unproductive with respect to the broader global systems in which it is viewed. Uneconomic growth occurs at a faster rate than what is considered sustainable. Uneconomic growth studies deal with the negative social and/or environmental impacts of too much growth in a broad economic sense (such as a nation's gross domestic product).

The term was popularized by former World Bank economist Herman Daly in the late 1990s, but the core ideas of unproductive growth have a long and varied history.

Negative consequences include negative impacts to social welfare and environmental damage. These outweigh the short-term value of an extra unit of growth. Uneconomic growth is generally attributed to poor planning, not negative intentions. The term's proliferation has centered mostly on the environmental movement, as data suggests that certain areas of growth, such as an increased use of fossil fuel, has uneconomic consequences.

When a nation increases production at the expense of known damage to the environment, it creates a negative consequence that is felt by not only by that country, but by the entire planet. This same principle can be brought down to the level of a city, company, and even one's own home.