Giles Atkinson - Böcker

This timely and important Handbook takes stock of progress made in our understanding of what sustainable development actually is and how it can be measured and achieved.This fully updated and revised second edition captures recent developments in the field, including 14 new chapters by internationally renowned authors from a variety of perspectives and disciplines. The authors explain that the gap between public commitments to sustainable development and real-world action towards achieving it is still significant, but not insurmountable, and that opportunities do exist to reduce that margin. Contributors synthesize the established knowledge and clearly present cutting-edge concepts from the frontier of sustainability research with direct relevance to theory and practice. Topics covered include: the fundamentals of sustainability; equity within and between generations; the capital approach; green growth; measurements and indicators of sustainability; climate change and wellbeing.This accessible, comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to exploring the theory and practice of sustainable development will prove an invaluable reference tool for researchers, students, academics and practitioners with an interest in the field of sustainable development.Contributors: W.N. Adger, S. Afionis, J. Agyeman, M. Agarwala, J.A. Allan, G.B. Asheim, G. Atkinson, R.M. Auty, E.B. Barbier, A. Bowen, C. Carraro, M.A. Cole, G. Cranston, S. Dietz, L. Dupuy, O. Edenhofer, P. Ekins, S. Fankhauser, T.J. Foxon, A. Galli, G. Gosnell, A. Gouldson, R. Green, K. Hamilton, G. Heal, C. Hepburn, J. Hodbod, T. Jackson, S. Kadner, B. Kristr m, G.-M. Lange, P. Lawn, A. Lucchesi, G. Luderer, J.A. McGregor, G. McNicoll, J.C. Morales, Y. Mulugetta, E. Naikal, E. Neumayer, B.G. Norton, D. Pearce, A. Randall, Y. Rydin, G. Schwerhoff, R. Sullivan, A. Thompson, C.A. Tisdell, J.C.J.M. van den Bergh, J. Vogler, C. von Stechow, M. Wackernagel, A. Winkels, G. Yohe, Z. Zhang

The unprecedented advances in economic development witnessed over the past decades cannot continue if economic progress comes at the expense of the natural environment. The Sustainable Development Goals, agreed globally in 2015, define a vision of human development where economic, social and environmental domains interact to shape the prospects for future prosperity. This timely literature review highlights the contribution of economics to the study of sustainable development. It discusses some of the most influential articles on the topic by economists over the past fifty years. Environmental sustainability, an inherently interdisciplinary topic, is analysed from the perspectives of applied microeconomics, environmental and resource economics, ecological economics, development economics and public economics. Written by two subject experts, this research review is indispensable for anyone interested or working in the field.

This path-breaking book focuses on the theory and practice of economic development as viewed from the perspective of sustainability, and the implications of sustainability for development policy. It demonstrates how various indicators can be developed and used to determine whether or not an economy is on a sustainable path of development.The book is concerned with measuring sustainability in a macroeconomic context so that decision makers are more aware of the real trends in the economy and the way in which their policies may affect these trends. The discussion on such measurement includes: the physical indicators of sustainability, resource and environmental accounting, savings and the empirical measurement of sustainable development, international trade and unsustainable development, ecological indicators, income distribution and social needs, and the assessment of structural adjustment policies and their implications for sustainable development. The authors conclude that the first step towards sustainable development is for a greater awareness of the effects of development on the environment, and the environment on human well-being.Measuring Sustainable Development will be particularly welcomed by policymakers and practitioners as well as researchers, academics and students of development economics and environmental economics.

This important book presents fresh thinking and new results on the measurement of sustainable development. Economic theory suggests that there should be a link between future wellbeing and current wealth. This book explores this linkage under a variety of headings: population growth, technological change, deforestation and natural resource trade. While the relevant theory is presented briefly, the chief emphasis is on empirical measurement of the change in real wealth: this measure of net or 'genuine' saving is a key indicator of sustainable development. The methodological and empirical work is bolstered by tests of the predictive power of genuine saving in explaining future consumption and economic growth. Just as importantly, the authors show that many resource-abundant countries would be considerably wealthier today had they managed to save and invest the profits from natural resource exploitation in the past.Wealth, Welfare and Sustainability will be of great interest to environmental and resource economists, specialists in 'sustainability' indicators from other disciplines and also development and growth economists.

This important book presents fresh thinking and new results on the measurement of sustainable development. Economic theory suggests that there should be a link between future wellbeing and current wealth. This book explores this linkage under a variety of headings: population growth, technological change, deforestation and natural resource trade. While the relevant theory is presented briefly, the chief emphasis is on empirical measurement of the change in real wealth: this measure of net or 'genuine' saving is a key indicator of sustainable development. The methodological and empirical work is bolstered by tests of the predictive power of genuine saving in explaining future consumption and economic growth. Just as importantly, the authors show that many resource-abundant countries would be considerably wealthier today had they managed to save and invest the profits from natural resource exploitation in the past.Wealth, Welfare and Sustainability will be of great interest to environmental and resource economists, specialists in 'sustainability' indicators from other disciplines and also development and growth economists.