This Handbook demonstrates the well-established body of thinking on sustainable development which now exists, and its tighter focus today on limits to current economic growth patterns. But while there have been lots of big global debates on planetary boundaries, and thresholds for critical resources, there has been little progress on the ground and in getting the politics right. Contributing authors show that many of the models we use to understand and manage relations between planet, people and profit are hopelessly mis-specified. But better tools exist, such as sustainability indicators, national environmental accounts, and the ecological footprint to help bridge this gap.' - Camilla Toulmin, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), UK'There is now wide recognition that current patterns of economic development are already putting great strains on resources, environment and the climate and that, if continued, the consequences could undermine or reverse past development gains and, possibly, lead to catastrophe. In other words our current paths are unsustainable. This Handbook provides a very thorough, thoughtful and valuable contribution to our understanding of the possible meanings of sustainable development, how it can be understood and calibrated, and characteristics of and choices around alternative paths. This is a subject that should be at the centre of the study of development and encompasses many disciplines. And it should be a subject that commands the attention of all those who think carefully about our future well-being; they will find this Handbook fascinating and essential reading.' - Lord Nicholas Stern, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK 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

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.

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 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 timely and important Handbook takes stock of progress made in our understanding of what sustainable development actually is and how it can be achieved. Twenty years on from the publication of the seminal Brundtland Report, it has become clear that formidable challenges confront policy makers who have publicly stated their commitment to the goal of sustainable development. The Handbook of Sustainable Development seeks to provide an account of the considerable progress made in fleshing out these issues. The Handbook brings together original and state-of-the-art contributions from internationally renowned scholars writing from a variety of perspectives and disciplines. These contributions acknowledge that there is no unified theory of sustainable development and reflect the breadth and diversity of the literature to date. Discussion encompasses the fundamentals of sustainable development and intergenerational equity, and covers issues such as: the capital approach, ecological resilience, population growth and safe minimum standards; intra-generational equity; resources, the environment and economic progress; urban and corporate sustainability; green accounting and sustainability indicators. This accessible, comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to 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.

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. The 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.