Beyond Growth - The Economics of Sustainable Development

Author: Herman E. Daly
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: This book is the culmination of the theoretical and policy research on environmental economics and sustainable development by the renowned American ecological economist Herman E. Daly. It has played a significant role in the field of environment and development since the 1990s. In the book, the author elaborates on the revolutionary significance of sustainable development, arguing that it is a form of development that transcends growth. Sustainable development is an integration of optimization in ecology, society, and the economy; it requires the simultaneous functioning of three principles: sufficiency in ecological scale, equity in social distribution, and efficiency in economic allocation. The central principle is that efforts should be made for sufficient per capita welfare. To this end, the author establishes a new theoretical framework that is distinctly different from traditional economics and traditional development paradigms, and conducts a series of root-seeking re-examinations of development issues, including national accounts, poverty, population, international trade, and even religion and ethics. While elaborating on the ideas of sustainable development, the author also proposes policy recommendations. In this regard, the depth, systematic nature, and revolutionary nature of this book are unmatched by any other work, and thus the academic community considers the author to be an outstanding advocate of the Copernican revolution in traditional economics. The Los Angeles Times commented, "This is a new book written by the far-sighted economist Herman E. Daly. For 25 years, Daly has been exploring the establishment of a new economics to interpret the necessity of natural wealth, community values, and morality." As a result, the book has been highly regarded internationally since its publication and is regarded as a must-read for anyone concerned with sustainable development.