Sustainable Development: Controversies and Theoretical Results in Economics

Abstract

This chapter presents the economic conditions for achieving sustainable development and the mechanism by which rational people choose an anti-sustainable path. These are theoretical results derived from the standard economic model. However, the model has faced controversy regarding the concept of sustainable development. This chapter introduces these controversies. By doing so, the implications and limitations of the theoretical results can be well-understood. One controversy concerns what should be sustained in sustainable development, and the other intergenerational equity. For illustration, this chapter often refers to the climate change issue, which raised and fired these controversies. Since the topic is sustainable development, this chapter relates to Sustainable Development Goals as a whole, and it contributes to SDGs 8 (economic growth) and 13 (climate action), among others.