A Survey of Sustainable Development

Social And Economic Dimensions

Perpetual economic growth is physically impossible on a planet with finite resources. Many concerned with humanity's future have focused on the concept of "sustainable development" as an alternative. Sustainable developmbrings together elements of economics, public policy, sociology, ecology, resource management, and other related areas, and while the term has become quite popular, it is rarely defined, and even less often is it understood.
A Survey of Sustainable Development addresses that problem by bringing together in a single volume the mimportant works on sustainable human and economic development. It offers a broad overview of the subject, and gives the reader a quick and thorough guide to this highly diffuse topic. The volume offers ten sections on topics including: economic and social dimensions of sustainable development, the North/South balance, population and the demographic transition, agriculture and renewable resources, energy and materials use, globalization and corporate responsibility, and local and national strategies.
Each section is introduced with an essay by one of the volume editors that provides an overview of the subject and a summary of the mainstream literature, followed by two- to three-page abstracts of the mimportant articles or book chapters on the topic.
A Survey of Sustainable Development is the sixth and final volume in the Frontier Issues of Economic Thought series produced by the Global DevelopmAnd EnvironmInstitute at Tufts University. Each book brings together the mimportant articles and book chapters in a "frontier" area of economics where important new work is being done but has not yet been incorporated into the mainstream of economic study. The book is an essential reference for students and scholars concerned with economics, environmental studies, public policy and administration, international development, and a broad range of related fields.