Sustainable Development

'With contributors from economics, sociology, philosophy and psychology, the book provides a comprehensive discussion on the challenges of using needs, capabilities and other perspectives on hedonic (subjective assessments and feelings) and eudaimonic (human flourishing) well-being to address sustainable development. [...] Overall, the book presents a commendable effort to revive the sustainable development debate drawing on different approaches to human well-being. [] The audacity, personal involvement and academic rigor of the editors of this volume make it a reference work for researchers and policy advisors interested in sustainable development and human flourishing.' Applied Research in Quality of Life, Mnica Guilln-Royo, University of Bath, UK 'This collection of essays in this volume represents a significant and admirable effort to explore [the] links between capabilities, needs, and well-being and sustainable development.' Ecological Economics, Dale S. Rothman, University of Denver, USA 'Altogether, the volume gives a broad and instructive overview of conceptual links between the concepts of need, capability and wellbeing themselves and between them and certain dimensions of sustainable development. [..] This book provides an informative first step to a hopefully very lively debate of relevance for sustainability science, developmental politics, ecological economics and (environmental) ethics alike.' Environmental Values, Lieske Voget-Kleschin, University of Greifswald, Germany 'Here the authors consider sustainable development as if humans mattered, exploring a variety of complementary approaches to understanding it as something worth achieving. The authors of this volume have their experience among the worlds affluent, but their insights are of universal relevance. In this volume they have shown that explorations among enriched conceptions of wellbeing can be rigorous as well as imaginative and committed.' Futures, Jerome Ravetz, Research Methods Consultancy Ltd. The book will be important reading for all those who want to engage in the CA sustainability debate. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Andrew Crabtree, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

Felix Rauschmayer is a senior research fellow at the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany. Ines Omann is a senior researcher at the Sustainable Europe Research Institute, Austria. She is also a lecturer in ecological economics and sustainability at the University of Graz and the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Austria. Johannes Frhmann is a researcher at the Sustainable Europe Research Institute, Austria.

Preface: The Death and Rebirth of Economics 1. Needs, Capabilities, and Quality of Life: Refocusing Sustainable Development 2. The Overshadowing of Needs 3. Sustainability as a Challenge to the Capability Approach 4. From Individual Well-Being to Sustainable Development: A Path Where Psychologists and Economist Meet 5. The Life-Chances Concept: A Sociological Perspective on Equity and Sustainable Development 6. Human Needs Frameworks and Their Contribution as Analytical Instruments in Sustainable Development Policy-Making 7. A Plea for the Self-Aware Sustainability Researcher: Learning from Business Transformation Processes for Transitions to Sustainable Development 8. Transition Towards Sustainable Development: Which Tensions Emerge? How To Deal With Them?