Methodology For The Calculation Of Sustainable National Income

This book looks at some key economic aspects of the environment. Our planet is threatened by a wrong belief in a wrongly formulated growth. The term “economic growth” can only mean an increase in welfare but is often wrongly identified with production growth that may be destructive to the environment. The figure of standard national income (NI) or Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is useful for many purposes but inadequate for environmental policy making. This book develops the concept of an environmentally Sustainable National Income (eSNI). eSNI is defined as the maximally attainable level of production, using the technology of the year under review, whereby the vital environmental functions (possible uses) of the not-human-made physical surroundings remain available for future generations. Judgement of environmental sustainability requires that both NI and eSNI are looked at jointly, alongside each other. The distance eΔ = NI – eSNI provides the relevant information about environmental sustainability. Calculations for the Netherlands for 1990-2015 provide a proof of concept. National statistical bureaus around the world are advised to provide this information for their own countries, so that policy making around the world can use sound information about the national economies and the global environment. Dr Roefie Hueting (1929) is an economist and was head of the department of environmental statistics at CBS Statistics Netherlands. Ir Bart de Boer (1947) is an electrotechnical engineer who applied systems analysis to environmental issues and sustainability.

The debate on the valuation of nature and the environment, sustainable national income and economic growth is one of prime importance in environmental economics. Economic Growth and Valuation of the Environment deals with the fundamental approaches to cal

Environmental economics, which used to be on the periphery of the economics discipline, is fast becoming mainstream as concern for the environment grows. Practitioners in other disciplines (e.g. engineering, science, natural resource management, social sciences) are increasingly faced with environmental problems that have an economic component. This invaluable book fills an important gap in the literature by teaching both economists and non-economists how to use economic tools to address environmental problems.The book is divided into three parts. Part I introduces theoretical concepts, including chapters on ecological economics and basic microeconomics for the non-specialist. Part II introduces tools for environmental policy analysis, while Part III discusses global environmental issues. The material is presented in an engaging manner with extensive use of graphs and diagrams to explain the key concepts. Exercises and an extensive bibliography are provided at the end of each chapter.

Indicators used to direct ecomonic policy are based on a number of factors - none of which, however, acknowledge the degradation of natural resources. Continued deterioration of the environment is leading us closer to crisis, while policymakers and the public base their decisions on dangerously incomplete information. In Taking Nature into Account, a number of the world's leading experts state the ethical, historical, economic, and ecological arguments for including environmental factors when measuring fiscal health. Initiated by the Club of Rome (an international group of influential businesspeople, statesmen, and scientists), and written in cooperation with the World Wide Fund for Nature, the report reviews existing methodologies and makes recommendations for adjusting the way we think about and measure the economy.

This title was first published in 2003. Our cherished economic indicators of income, product, consumption and capital fail in taking a long-term view of social progress. They do not account for environmental deterioration, which impairs the quality of life of present and future generations, and hence the sustainability of development. "Greening" the conventional national (and corporate) accounts introduces environmental impacts and costs into these accounts and balances. The result is a new compass for steering the economy towards sustainability, which may change not only our main measures of economic performance but also the basic tenets of environmental and resource policies. This book presents methodological advances and case studies of environmental accounting, and discusses their use in environmental management and policies. In their introduction, the editors provide a critical perspective of historical developments and current debates.