How do you evaluate the economics discourse of sustainability - Essay Example

Topic: Evaluation of economic dis of sustainability Lecturer: Presentation: The concept of sustainability has become a serious debate among the economists in past two decades and many theorists have presented their theories / frameworks to describe the importance of this topic. Sustainability is defined as creation of balance between the economic, environmental and social health in a society or nation with limited resources. However, it should be highlighted that Economic indicators such as GDP, FDI, Unemployment, Per Capita Income, Trade and Current Account Balance etc.

only represent economy as a whole but not sustainability. Unfortunately many debates and studies about the measurement of sustainability do not define, or even derive a common understanding, about what is to be measured. Nonetheless, the context of sustainability cannot be separated from its measurement. In simple words, experts argue that there is need to consider economic, environmental and social indicators to measure sustainability. For example, economic indicators are income level in society, inflation, unemployment, exports / imports statistics, GDP, FDI, Public and Foreign Debt etc.

Social indicators may include Suicide rates, people living below poverty line, difference between rich & poor, rate of urbanization, spread of diseases, mortality rates, educational and health spending etc. Environmental factors include carbon emissions and pollution. Together, the evaluation of these aforementioned indicators helps determining the level of sustainability in a particular nation or society. It should be pinpointed that economists, statisticians and business professionals have developed various quantitative models and tools to estimate economic betterment and real growth rates.

Nevertheless, the nominal growth is not considered as true representation of economic sustainability, growth and expansion. Some of the best examples of quantitative methods for measuring sustainability include Liverman and Sustainable Seattle (that ranges from the simple to complex), Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW), Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), Moody’s Credit Rating etc. Economists, indeed, claim that a country’s reliance and use of local resources for domestic production (without any violation of environment and business laws) and need fulfillment of local + foreign consumers leads to accumulation of wealth and sustainability in that country.

In addition, it reduces dependence on foreign countries, donor agencies and international community, which later enhances its political and economic power, reputation and goodwill. In addition, today the proponents of sustainable development have started a new debate over technological advancements and importance of ‘green economy’. Indeed, the ‘go green’ is all about developing new technologies that could facilitate in recycling and reuse. For instance, green technologies will also benefit in use of natural resources in industrial manufacturing and production, whereby enabling the nations to secure their natural resources for future generations.

Another important use of ‘green economy’ is that it could benefit in reducing consumption of fossil fuels in automobiles and for energy production. This is because it focuses on replacement of contemporary vehicles with alternative fuel vehicles (hybrid, electric, solar). Similarly, the old and gas energy plants could be replaced with nuclear, windmill, solar, waste utilisation etc. for creation of energy / power / electricity.   In conclusion, the nations have been considering the threat of global warming and ozone layer depletion.

Therefore, the just do not consider economic production and wealth as the pioneers of sustainable development. Rather, they are more concerned with environmental protection and social welfare so that they could use economic and financial resources for true welfare and sustainability. Reference: John C. V. Pezzey and Michael A. Toman (2002) “The Economics of Sustainability: A Review of Journal Articles” January 2002 Discussion Paper 02-03 http://www.rff.org/rff/Documents/RFF-DP-02-03.pdf .

  ReferencesHart M, Guide to Sustainable Community Indicators, Ipswich, Maine; QLF/Atlantic Center for Environment, 1995Metafuture.org. Articles by colleagues 2010, viewed on 31 Oct 2010, http://www.metafuture.org/articlesbycolleagues/AlanFricker/Measuring Sustainable Seattle, Indicators of sustainable community, Metro Center YMCA, 909 Fourth Ave, Seattle, WA 98104, 1995.  .