Abstract
Sustainable development must satisfy the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. Although it looks at the economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability, this article focuses specifically on an analysis of the concept in conjunction with the use and protection of natural resources. It shows how taking account of environmental goods, including the finite nature of certain natural resources, can change the way economists deal with the issues of growth, development and equity between generations. In this context, after a brief historical perspective on the concept of development, the paper shows how the potential for substitutability between natural and manufactured capital, for example in production technologies, lead to two paradigms, that of weak sustainability and that of strong sustainability. These two approaches are presented in an effort to explain how their merits can be mutually reinforcing.
Highlights
The purpose of this article is to show how economic research can approach and analyze the issue of sustainability, its significance and its challenges
In the context of strong sustainability (Section 3.3), we shall emphasize the problems posed by defining critical types of natural capital and sustainable development indicators
This concept of economic development determined the prime objective assigned to development policies, which was to raise standards of living by supplying growing populations with the goods and services that would allow them to attain the final level of development
Summary
The purpose of this article is to show how economic research can approach and analyze the issue of sustainability, its significance and its challenges. In the context of weak sustainability (Section 3.1), we shall emphasize the considerable difficulty in taking account of intergenerational equity (to avoid favoring one generation, whichever that may be). In the context of strong sustainability (Section 3.3), we shall emphasize the problems posed by defining critical types of natural capital and sustainable development indicators
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