The Role of Economics in Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection

Abstract

In the last few years, some economists who are members of a movement in academic economics known as ecological economics have begun to examine and criticize the use of many traditional economic methods of analysis often used in environmental decisionmaking (see, e.g., Costanza 1991). These criticisms have often focused on traditional economic approaches to valuing environmental entities, the use of cost-benefit analysis in environmental decisionmaking, and systems of national accounting such as gross national product (GNP). Yet for the most part, economic analyses in environmental and sustainable decisionmaking continues to be based on more traditional economic methods and approaches that have been criticized in the growing ecological economics literature. This chapter examines some of the more controversial issues that arise in the application of traditional economic analysis methods to sustainable development and environmental controversies.