In rich countries, environmental problems are seen as problems of prosperity. In poor countries they are seen as problems of poverty. This is because the environmental problems in poor countries, such as lack of clean drinking water, are problems that affect them here and now, whereas in rich countries the environmental problems that people worry about most are those that - largely as a result of prosperity and economic growth - seem likely to harm mainly future generations. But what exactly are our obligations to future generations? Are these determined by their "rights", or intergenerational justice, or equity, or "sustainable development"? The first part of this book argues that none of these concepts provides any guidance, but that we still have a moral obligation to take account of the interests that future generations will have. An appraisal of probable developments suggests that, while environmental problems have to be taken seriously, our main obligation to future generations is to bequeath to them a society in which there is greater respect for basic human rights than is the case today.

This important textbook has been revised and updated to continue its focus on the link between ethics and economic policy analysis, whilst ensuring that perspectives addressing the moral limits of the market, latest behavioural economics literature, and the changes in inequality over the years are included. Basic philosophical concepts are systematically described, followed by conventional welfare economic theory and policy, and applications to some topical economic problems such as income distribution and sustainable development.

This major volume features a key selection of Wilfred Beckerman's work on the determinants of economic growth in the post-war world, income distribution and environmental policy. Economic growth is the focus of the first part of this volume which includes papers on the causes of differentiated rates of growth in the post-war years, its relationship to welfare, and the desirability of economic growth. The relationship between growth and the state of the environment is the subject of the second part of the volume which includes discussion of the economics of climate change, obligations to future generations and the justification of discounting. In this part of the book, Wilfred Beckerman also questions the value of sustainable development. The third part of the book, on inequality and poverty, focuses on the distribution of incomes, the conceptual problems of poverty measurement and the impact of social security payments in Britain. This volume also features an extensive introduction in which the author looks back on his career both as an academic and as a civil servant. Iconoclastic and thought-provoking, Growth, the Environment and the Distribution of Incomes will be welcomed as a wide-ranging and unconventional discussion of economic approaches to the environment, wealth distribution and growth.

This volume provides a thought-provoking critique the main, existing school of environmental ethics and seeks to build a more coherent and rigorous philosophical basis for future environmental policy.