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Sustainability or the measurement of wealth?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2013

Robert D. Cairns
Robert D. Cairns*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, McGill University, 855 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal QC, CanadaH3A 2T7. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The theoretical definitions of sustainability proposed in EDE's recent symposium, Sustainability and the Measurement of Wealth, are useful for measuring national wealth but not for measuring sustainability. Moreover, because they are based on market prices and extensions to them, the empirical estimates are not indicators of sustainability. Sustainable development is defined and a theoretic indicator is proposed using maximin theory.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 18 , Issue 5 , October 2013 , pp. 640 - 648
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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References

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