Sustainable Development—Definitions, Principles, Policies

Estudos Avançados, 2012

Given the current economic challenges, the desirability of achieving sustainable development has come to the fore. This chapter outlines and discusses contemporary concepts of sustainable development paying most attention to different criteria which have been proposed for achieving sustainable economic development. Most current economic conceptions of sustainable economic development are shown to be imprecise and can be in conflict. Lack of attention to empirically measuring and examining the coefficient of concern of current generations for the well-being of future generations is identified as a major shortcoming of current debates about sustainable development. Conditions (weak and strong), which it is claimed must be satisfied to achieve sustainable economic development, are considered, before examining the merit of the three-pillar concept, which requires economic, social and ecological sustainability to be simultaneously satisfied. Although the three-pillar concept does have significant limitations, it is contended that it can be a useful guide to policy formation. Other topics covered include the role of different forms of capital in contributing to sustainable economic development. The measurement of stock of the different forms of capital (especially social capital) is found to be problematic. Nevertheless, all these forms of capital have important influences on the sustainability of economic development, or the lack of it. Several issues involving poverty and (economic sustainability) are raised. These include open-access to the use of natural resources and the social cohesiveness (embedding) of some social groups which makes it difficult for them to escape from poverty, for example, by migrating. Examples are given. Both open-access to natural resources and the nature of the social capital of some social groups may result in these groups being caught in a poverty trap. An additional subject explored in the effect of labour mobility on the conservation of natural resources.

Estudios De Economia Aplicada, 2003

Those of us who work in the field of development do welcome with open arms the August 2003 symposium of Estudos de Economia Aplicada, dedicated to sustainable development. As Antonio Pulido (2003) indicates, the concept poses a central challenge for the profession. In this comment I discuss two issues. The first one is conceptual and refers to whether the notion of sustainable development is still relevant. The second one is methodological, with very important implications for empirical work. The World Development Report for 2003 is titled Sustainable Development in a Dynamic World: Transforming Institutions, Growth, and Quality of Life. Already in 1992, the World Development Report had been dedicated to the same topic: Development and the Environment. This confirms the significance of the theme. However, during the last few years, the idea of sustainable development has lost some ground, not necessarily because it has become irrelevant, but because first, it has been superseded by or incorporated into another notion; and second, because it has been made part of a series of objectives. The other notion is the concept of propoor growth. This is an idea that development economists, and in particular multilateral organizations such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, began using a few years ago. It suffers, however, from the same problem the concept of sustainable development does, namely, that although it is a very appealing term in populist circles, there is no consensus concerning its definition (Asian Development Review 2000; Cord et al. 2003; Quibria 2003). When a concept cannot be defined properly, it becomes useless for purposes of serious economic policy analysis. In fact, Pulido resorts in section 2 of his paper to discussing the concept that we all, as economists, use, namely, plain growth. The origins of the interest in pro-poor growth lie in the attempt to understand the empirical significance and factors behind the variable impact of growth on poverty reduction. Pro-poor growth has been broadly defined by a number of international organizations as growth that leads to significant reductions in poverty. Then the questions that arise are: what is a significant reduction in poverty?; or, how much must the poor benefit for growth to be considered pro-poor? In this respect, two definitions of pro-poor growth have emerged. First, growth is pro-poor when the Artículo recibido en octubre de 2003. Aceptado en noviembre de 2003.

Environmental values, 1997

ABSTRACT: This paper presents a systematic discussion, mainly for non-economists, on economic approaches to the concept of sustainable develop-ment. As a first step, the concept of sustainability is extensively discussed. As a second step, the argument that it is not possible to consider ...

The vast expansion of economic activity beginning in the twentieth century and continuing today is the predominant cause of the environmental decline that has occurred to date worldwide. This activity is consuming vast quantities of resources from the environment and returning to the environment vast quantities of waste products. The damages are already huge and are on a path to be ruinous in the future. Yet the world economy, now increasingly integrated and globalized, is poised for unprecedented growth. The engine of this growth is modern capitalism: the worldwide commitment to economic growth at almost any cost; enormous investment in technologies designed with little regard for the environment; powerful corporate interests whose overriding objective is to grow by generating increasingly greater profit, including profit from avoiding the environmental impact and cleanup costs they create; governments that are either yielding or promoting corporate interests and the growth imperative; rampant consumerism spurred by sophisticated advertising; economic activity is so large in scale that its impact may undermine the planet's ability to sustain life unless something is immediately done. This chapter explores the fundamental factors responsible for this growth imperative, which led to this pathetic situation and then suggests a future remedy to emerge from this state. After a brief introduction to ecology, economy, and economic growth and ecosystem concepts, the effect of economic activities on the global ecological situation is assessed. Poverty and population growth are discussed as drivers of social unsustainability. The concept of Sustainable Development is then introduced and the compatibility of a market-based capitalist economic system with sustainability is reviewed. Several reforms/alternatives to the present economic system proposed in the literature are discussed to promote sustainability. The case of intergenerational equity and discounting the future is critically discussed in the light of systems thinking. Recent advances in hierarchical systems approach concepts in systems theory are employed to argue against the economic growth concept of the capitalist economic system. After that, the cause of all the ills-the built-in usurious system in the capitalist economy-is discussed in greater detail. Before concluding with future directions, the general belief in science and technology that ''science can save the future'' that it has the ability to provide humanity with the knowledge and understanding to manage Earth's natural resources is critically discussed and the technological phenomenon is reviewed under the light of sustainability. Finally, the concept of a ''fair and just'' economic system is introduced for sustainable development of humanity and future directions are given for its realization.

2013

Tisdell, C, The nature of sustainability and of sustainable development, Discussion Paper No 48,

European Economic Review, 2014

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Designing an Innovative Pedagogy for Sustainable Development in Higher Education, 2020

In this introductory chapter we aspire to offer a comprehensive yet complete roadmap of the concept and content of the much used but not quite appropriately perceived term of sustainability economics. Interestingly, there is not a formal and universally accepted definition as the field is considered as a relative science and thus requires an interdisciplinary approach to be studied. However, through indicative yet recent literature we offer an insight on the state of the art in order to relate with its core meaning. A historical background is also outlined as understanding the foundations is crucial. Elements of Economic Theory serve as means to bridge the past and current trends on how theories have evolved to understand what is necessary to achieve not only economic growth in numbers but also to ensure well-being and prosperity for the current and future generations.

2012

The vast expansion of economic activity beginning in the 20th Century and continuing today is the predominant cause of the environmental decline that has occurred to date worldwide. This activity is consuming vast quantities of resources from the environment and returning to the environment vast quantities of waste products. The damages are already huge and are on a path to be ruinous in the future. Yet the world economy, now increasingly integrated and globalized, is poised for unprecedented growth. The engine of this growth is modern capitalism. The worldwide commitment to economic growth at almost any cost; enormous investment in technologies designed with little regard for the environment; powerful corporate interests whose overriding objective is to grow by generating increasingly greater profit, including profit from avoiding the environmental impact and cleanup costs they create; governments that are either yielding or promoting corporate interests and the growth imperative; rampant consumerism spurred by sophisticated advertising; economic activity is so large in scale that its impact may undermine the planet’s ability to sustain life ‎unless something is immediately done. This chapter explores the fundamental factors responsible for this growth imperative, which led to this pathetic situation and then suggests a future remedy to emerge from this state. After a brief introduction to ecology, economy and economic growth and ecosystem concepts, the effect of economic activities on the global ecological situation is assessed. Poverty and population growth are discussed as drivers of social unsustainability. The concept of Sustainable Development is then introduced and the compatibility of a market-based capitalist economic system with sustainability is reviewed. Several reforms/alternatives to the present economic system proposed in the literature are discussed to promote sustainability. The case of intergenerational equity and discounting the future is critically discussed in the light of systems thinking. Recent advances in hierarchical systems approach concepts in systems theory are employed to argue against the economic growth concept of the capitalist economic system. After that the cause of all the ills – the built-in usurious system in the capitalist economy – is discussed in greater detail. Before concluding on future directions the general belief in science and technology that “science can save the future” that it has the ability to provide humanity with the knowledge and understanding to manage earth’s natural resources is critically discussed and the technological phenomenon is reviewed under the light of sustainability. Finally, the concept of a ‘fair and just’ economic system is introduced for sustainable development of humanity and future directions are given for its realization.

Unspecified Oxford, 2004