Sustainable Development Indicators in Ecological Economics (Current Issues in Ecological Economics Series)

Since the late 1980s and early 1990s, national governments have introduced a range of policy measures designed to steer their economies along a more sustainable path. Yet how are we to know how successful these have been? This significant new book discusses the ways in which sustainable development indicators can be improved in order to both assess the impact of past policies and avoid the repetition of previous failings.

Covering a broad range of indicators relating to national accounts, aggregate welfare, natural capital, ecosystem health and human-environment interactions, this volume provides an important assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each. With contributions from some of the most eminent scholars in the field, the book competently analyses the various methods of measuring the sustainable development performance of nations, and suggests many ways in which these can be developed and improved. While the contributors might offer conflicting views, the message they convey is universal - the quest for appropriate sustainable development indicators is critically important if we are ever to bring about a fairer, sustainable and more efficient world.

Edited by Philip Lawn, Flinders University, Australia