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This paper shows that, for dynamic optimizing economies with different types of natural resource, environmental, and human-made capital stocks, a necessary and sufficient condition for permanently sustaining an optimal utility/consumption level is the stationarity of the current-value Hamiltonian. For economies whose development is not exogenously and directly affected by time (i.e., time-autonomous economies), this stationarity condition generalizes Dixit et al.’s (1980 ) “zero-net-aggregate-investment” rule of sustain-ability, which in turn generalizes Solow-Hartwick’s sustainability rule. For non-autonomous economies, the stationarity condition is not generally fulfilled, and the current-value Hamiltonian under ( over) estimates the true welfare level by an amount equal to the discounted value of the net “ pure time effect.” For the non-autonomous case of a time-dependent utility discount rate, a general condition on the discount rate function (of which the hyperbolic discount rate function is a special case) upholds the results obtained for autonomous cases. The paper concludes with a discussion of policies that promote both optimality and sustainability objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1970s there has been a significant interest in small island developing states (SIDS). Since the 1990s the vast majority of this focus has been on economic and environmental ‘vulnerabilities’. This paper reaffirms the importance of ‘the social’ when analysing the ‘vulnerabilities’ of SIDS through a country case study of Seychelles in the context of its SIDS status. It outlines Seychelles' demographic processes and macroeconomic volatilities and discusses its post-independence social development achievements. This paper provides critical analysis of how these achievements have been attained and considers the extent to which the present levels are sustainable. It argues that significant social gains are under threat from a range of domestic and international forces, potentially destabilizing the main pillar of the economy, tourism. The paper concludes that while the economic and environmental vulnerabilities of SIDS are of conceptual importance, reaffirming the centrality of the social is vital to understanding the potential causes and consequences of these vulnerabilities. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the main issues surrounding distributional effects in the domains of natural resource management and land policies, agricultural technology and research policies, agricultural market and trade policies, and consumer-oriented policies, including standards, subsidies, and labeling. Agriculture is drifting into an ever more drastic bifurcation at a global level and within many countries. Correcting that bifurcation will require large investments in rural areas and rural people, in institutions, and in information and biological technologies accessible by the poor in the world's smallholder sector. Large and growing national and international inequalities related to agriculture and rural areas threaten peace, growth, and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the introduction of ‘ustainability’ as a novel strategic paradigm to senior executive learning. Specifically, we describe the Sustainable Enterprise Academy, an executive education initiative founded by the Schulich School of Business at York University (Canada) with the active support of a number of academic collaborators, five corporations and several business and civil society organizations. The Academy is dedicated to business transformation through the application of a strategic sustainability paradigm, which assumes the desirability of business simultaneously creating economic, social and environmental value. The paper recounts the Academy's journey between 1999 and 2003, during which time five successful senior executive Business Leader Seminars were held – four in Canada and one in the US. Evaluation data from participants are presented and lessons learned described. The paper also explores future avenues of development for the Academy. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development has achieved widespread acceptance throughout the world as an appropriate goal for humankind. Applying the concept at both government and corporate levels has proved difficult due in part to an inherent conflict between the ecological, social and economic dimensions contained within contemporary interpretations of sustainable development. This paper describes a version of sustainability that provides clear and unambiguous direction for decision makers. Replacing the typically Western neoclassical economic perspective contained within most interpretations of sustainable development with a Buddhist perspective of economics leads to an internally consistent version of sustainability referred to as sustainable sufficiency. A study of a decision process within an organization operating within a sustainable development framework is used to provide contrast with decision making within a sustainable sufficiency framework. A conclusion of this paper is that the sustainable sufficiency concept reinforces the view that neoclassical economic principles provide a barrier to achieving the social and ecological objectives contained within contemporary interpretations of sustainable development. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent UK Government strategies and planning policies have embraced the principle of sustainable development, presenting this as a framework for future planning and land-use decisions. This paper will review those policies that emphasize the need to re-use previously developed land. Resulting from these policies is a need for local authorities, in particular, to adopt a sequential testing approach in terms of land-use decisions. We evaluated the sequential testing approaches advocated, examining how they equate with the assessment of indicators of sustainable development. Current sequential testing approaches tend to evaluate over-arching considerations within the planning framework and do not necessarily assess site-specific characteristics. This paper argues that if optimum adherence to the principle of sustainable development in land-use decisions is desired, the pre-determination of end-use should be ended or at least minimized since it does not facilitate sustainable development. It is suggested that in order to achieve sustainable development in land-use decisions, a sequential approach to determine end-use, based on those characteristics exhibited by the site is necessary. Therefore, there is also a need for a mechanism that can assess whether the development decision has reached an optimum choice concerning sustainable development. The paper concludes by proposing that a framework for expressing site characteristics as elements of sustainable development is needed to enable best possible sustainable land-use decisions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative financing mechanisms are needed to facilitate sustainable development. In the past few years, socially responsible investments have emerged as a successful type of financing scheme but many eco-oriented start-up companies remain under-funded. Apparently, environmental innovations have only recently caught the attention of an important financial sector: venture capital (VC). The article describes the emerging phenomenon of environment-related VC (or green VC) and provides an overview of the current market for this type of investment. The paper delves into this industry, revealing its characteristics, processes and mechanisms. The study also uncovers the main problems faced by eco-entrepreneurs as well as venture capitalists interested in this type of venture. Finally, it analyses the drivers for green VC and attempts to identify the sources of innovation and the uniqueness of these emerging financial products. Based on the analysis, the paper also derives a definition of green VC. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most treatments of social justice, little consideration is given to spatial concerns. However, it is increasingly evident that spatial or territorial factors play a major role in determining life chances and in helping to deliver social inclusion. This paper considers the key theoretical issues that underpin the spatial dimension of social justice. From this, the paper progresses to examining the factors that have influenced the introduction of sociospatial development as a component part of the adoption of the sustainable development paradigm. Illustrations are provided of the outcome of this new model including the construction of the European Spatial Development Perspective and the introduction of Community Planning in Scotland. A final section looks forward to the wider adoption of a sociospatial approach to policy development and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problems of developing countries are well documented and they appear to be growing in magnitude. Although science and technology (S&T) offers a glimmer of hope in dealing with problems of developing countries, policy formulation and implementation have not yielded the desired results. The reasons advanced for the failure of S&T to aid in national development tend to be fragmented and are usually based on the mechanistic worldview. This tends to perpetuate mistakes in policy formulation and implementation. A systemic framework is thus advanced in this paper to enable us to understand the problems encountered in S&T policy formulation. It is hoped that the framework will enable us to start trying to solve the right problem rather than the wrong problems advanced by mechanistic thinkers. The systemic framework advances the following set of problems as critical: inappropriate norms of a nation, inappropriate worldview, and human behavioural constraints in managing complexity. These problems manifest themselves as Kenneth Boulding's (1966) pathologies of intellectual productivity—spurious saliency, unproductive emulation, and cultural lag—resulting in ineffective S&T policy. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops an environmental extension of a Lewis dual economy model, in which the interaction between environmental quality and economic growth, in one of its several dimensions, is explicitly modeled to explore long‐run effects of a pollution abatement rule in developing economies. The government requires the modern sector to dedicate a fraction of its output to pollution abatement, with such profitability‐reducing fraction being endogenous to the level of environmental quality. Meanwhile, the level of environmental quality positively affects labor productivity, profits and, therefore, savings, which has a positive impact on capital accumulation. It is shown that this pollution abatement requirement, by affecting profitability in the modern sector both negatively and positively, makes for the emergence of an ecological development trap from which a developing dual economy, if left to the free play of its structural forces, never escapes. Fortunately, however, this economy can be released from such a trap not only through a standard Big Push, in the spirit of Rosenstein‐Rodan, but also by means of what we call an Environmental Big Push. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the two‐way relationship between economic growth and human development in Zambia over the period 1970 to 2015. By applying the cointegration and vector error correction model techniques, our estimates demonstrate, in the first instance, that economic growth and human development are cointegrated. Second, there is no evidence of two‐way causal effect observable between economic growth and human development in the short run. In marked contrast, we find that economic growth has long‐run effect on human development, with no evidence of reverse causality. This shows that the endless fixation on economic growth has manifestly and consistently proven that GDP growth has had sluggish multiplier effect on inclusive development in Zambia. Finally, we draw country‐specific policy recommendations from our empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study looks into the effects of voluntary sustainability reporting in analysts' earnings forecasts as a driver for sustainable development. The methodology used is based on a regression model to test whether the issuance of a CSR stand-alone report affects analysts' forecast errors and forecast dispersion. Forecast error refers to the difference between the forecasted earnings per share (EPS) and the actual EPS. Dispersion refers to the standard deviation in EPS forecasts between analysts following the same firm. Our study in the Spanish context includes 527 observations from listed firms and covers the period 2005-2010. We provide evidence that there is a negative statistically significant association between the absolute forecast earnings error and the publication of a sustainability report. However, we find that the CSR reports have lost power in reducing the earnings forecast error if we compare analysts' activity before the financial crisis and during the crisis itself, so we open up a question for future research to check whether this is a consistent trend or whether in times of economic recovery this phenomenon regains power. The main conclusion of this paper points to the importance of sustainable development and stakeholder engagement through the issuance of CSR reports, which can help the smooth running of capital markets in a context of increasing sensitiveness to social responsible investment. Our study in this field is pioneering in the Spanish setting, which is especially interesting given the growing trend to publish CSR reports in this country. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development in the context of international policy is influenced by western values, with few critical evaluations of its application in Asian contexts. This paper presents the interpretation of sustainable development by businesses, civil society, government at various levels and a selection of graduate students in Phuket, Thailand. In all, 78 hours of observations in public meetings, 70 hours of interviews and 10 hours of sectorally arranged workshops were conducted over a period of two years. Data were transcribed and analysed using established qualitative methods. The paper reports how Thai value systems relate to sustainable development concepts and proposes that a culturally appropriate model is needed for understanding the path to a sustainable future in Phuket. Understanding cultural and social values is the key to sustainability. This will require appropriate network-building that creates change towards a culturally sustainable society. We propose that similar cultural adjustment will be necessary for sustainable development to become effective as an organizing concept in Asia. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the interpretation of pictures that stakeholders draw in order to help them structure and understand complex situations. The pictures in question are called Rich Pictures (RPs) and the matter at the heart of interpretation is insight drawn from eduction (drawing forth). Insights relate to stakeholders of all kinds, be they the individual, the group, the context in which the individual and the group find themselves, or the means whereby the context can be made more sustainable or improved. RP drawing, often as a collaborative, stakeholder exercise, is a powerful activity that has the capacity to break down barriers of language, education and culture. Drawing upon research with RPs from around the world and spanning 50 years of our combined practice, this paper demonstrates RPs' utility, universality and resilience. We maintain that RP drawing enriches problem solving and, in the long term, saves time and resources being expended on erroneous and/or superficial tasks. However, the interpretation of RPs is still in its infancy. By use of processes derived from various forms of content analysis (CA) we argue that RPs can be applied as a powerful tool in a variety of policy fields. Conclusions for application are drawn and suggestions are made for further research relating to the clearer interpretation of RPs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach ( SLA) is promoted as a useful way to centre development on the needs of those who are most vulnerable, but is critiqued for inflexibility and ignoring important power relations. In light of the rigidities in using a formulaic SLA, this conceptual paper suggests a practical suite of tools that are in use in livelihoods research and development practice, and refocuses them to include adaptive strategies of vulnerable peoples to resource management pressures. The Pentagon Prison of five capitals can overwhelm both the researcher and researched and while possibly useful in identifying livelihoods gaps, misses all-encompassing power relations, and reduces complexities to quantitative units. In arguing for a shift from the Pentagon Prison of SLA towards a flexible livelihoods trajectory approach, in particular for a research project on livelihood adaptations in Lao PDR, I identify a feasible research and development approach that more meaningfully reflects the lives of those participating in that research. I propose that the livelihood trajectories approach opens up the way data are gathered and can lead to holistic understandings of the complex realities of peoples' adaptive strategies, incorporating strategies from short to long term, and proactive, reactive and inactive techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on a qualitative study that explored the views of a group of staff from Brazilian organizations that profess to be 'sustainable', on barriers to sustainability. The main barriers identified in the study were lack of clarity in the concept, resistance to change, lack of systems thinking, political factors, inability to ensure sustainable behaviours among suppliers, and the consumer culture of global capitalism. In investigating perceptions of barriers to sustainability by managers of business companies, this paper contributes to a better understanding of how the tensions between the growth imperatives of an emerging economy and calls for sustainable practices are played out at organizational level. The paper also identifies a number of relevant themes for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interest regarding sustainable consumption has increased around the world, and several international institutions and organizations have highlighted the emergency that society needs to face from this century onwards. Sustainable consumption involves many factors other than individual behaviour, which usually leads to a cross-national focus to explain differences and similarities among countries. Cross-cultural investigations have emerged under the widespread context of sustainability, but how they can contribute to clarify sustainable consumption behaviour is as yet an incipient discussion. On this basis, and considering previous literature about value dimensions, the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), and the value-belief-norm theory (VBN), this paper undertakes a theoretical discussion drawing upon previous empirical research and proposes a new, alternative and complementary point of view. We address how cultural elements can influence values and, in turn, sustainable behaviour. Moreover, we argue that beliefs could be a key driver of sustainable intention, as the intention formed by attitude, perceived behavioural control and subjective norms does not explicate sustainable consumption by itself. Ultimately, this study combines various concepts in a wider discussion about cross-cultural sustainable consumption, a holistic perspective to investigate sustainable consumption across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of the relationship between economic development and the environment has been discussed since the 1960s, yet opinion remains divided. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation and begins by reviewing the largely theoretical discussions from the limits to growth debate of the 1970s to the advent of sustainable development inthe 1980s. The paper then examines the recent studies that have subjected the growth - environment relationship to a statistical analysisthrough the estimation of environmental Kuznets curves (EKCs). The extent to which these studies indicate a decoupling of environmental damage from growth is considered and reasons are suggested why some environmental indicators appear to improve with growth whilst others deteriorate. In order to illustrate the need to interpret EKCs carefully, forecasts of global emissions are made, for the period 1990-2020, for two pollutants that EKCs suggest are being decoupled from economic growth. Policy implications are then discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows how systems science can clarify the debate and outline the basic differences between technology and sustainability. Deconstruction is a process by which the various meanings of a concept are ascertained. It is used to draw the characteristics of technology and sustainability. Each of these two concepts is driven by imperatives which are in conflict with each other. The discussion infers how they can be reconciled. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of disasters on the macroeconomy has moved to the centre of sustainable development in a country and regions, as disasters can affect all sectors of society. It is of great practical value for comprehensive disaster reduction and sustainable development to better determine these impacts, analyse different types of disasters and different impact types, and clarify both positive and negative implications for the macroeconomy from the short term to longer term. Disasters have played an especially important role on China's economic development with implications examined in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rise of neoliberalism, a corporate-dominated state-assisted deregulated growth strategy, which has caught most countries in the throes of what can be termed a 'growth trap', has indeed yielded significant economic gains for many but has also entailed inexorable social, moral and environmental adversities. This paper argues that the reason we experience the incongruities between economic growth and social nourishing is the fact that we treat economy over society as our end goal. We regard economic growth as the end-all sum. Given the social and other costs this obsession with growth has inflicted upon societies, it is important that we escape the neoliberal growth trap and recalibrate our focus from the economy to society, to ensure that neither growth nor 'development', but rather formation of what this paper terms 'good societies', those that nurture and thrive on values of equity, empathy, social justice and environmental sustainability, should be the end goal. By drawing lessons from several philosophical and practical ideas, the paper offers policy options relevant to the implementation of the 'good society' concept both within and across nations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rise of neoliberalism, a corporate-dominated state assisted deregulated growth strategy, which has caught most countries in the throes of what can be termed a 'growth trap', has indeed yielded significant economic gains for many, but at the same time has also entailed inexorable social, moral and environmental adversities. This paper argues that the reason we experience the incongruities between neoliberalism induced economic growth and social nourishing is because we give economy primacy over society, sometimes to its cost. Given the colossal social, environmental and moral damage that the pursuit of neoliberal economic growth has caused to society, it is important that we recalibrate our focus from the economy to society and ensure that neither growth nor 'development', but rather formation of what this paper terms 'good societies'-- entities that nurture and thrive on values of equity, empathy, social justice and environmental sustainability -- constitutes the end goal of all public actions. By drawing lessons from several philosophical and practical ideas, the paper offers several policy options relevant to implementation of the 'good society' concept both within and across nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces convergent innovation (CI) as a form of meta-innovation-an innovation in the way we innovate. CI integrates human and economic development outcomes, through behavioral and ecosystem transformation at scale, for sustainable prosperity and affordable universal health care within a whole-of-society paradigm. To this end, CI combines technological and social innovation (including organizational, social process, financial, and institutional), with a special focus on the most underserved populations. CI takes a modular approach that convenes around roadmaps for real world change-a portfolio of loosely coupled complementary partners from the business community, civil society, and the public sector. Roadmaps serve as collaborative platforms for focused, achievable, and time-bound projects to provide scalable, sustainable, and resilient solutions to complex challenges, with benefits both to participating partners and to society. In this paper, we first briefly review the literature on technological innovation that sets the foundations of CI and motivates its feasibility. We then describe CI, its building blocks, and enabling conditions for deployment and scaling up, illustrating its operational forms through examples of existing CI-sensitive innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current need for policy programmes for Macedonian cities to reach the standard of sustainable and prosperous economic development, and to enable their promotion on the European cultural map, initiated the Architecture as a Cultural Sustainability Factor of the Macedonian Cities project. The project aims to inspect the spatial and physical potential of the Macedonian architectural and bio‐regional heritage in order to create unique and competitive brands, and to develop the overall economic and tourist potential of the Republic of Macedonia. The project encompasses cooperative agreement‐based projects with the Association of the Units of Local Self‐Government of the Republic of Macedonia (ZELS), consisting of 84 municipalities and the capital of Skopje as a particular self‐governed unit. The National Strategy of Sustainable Development, ZELS' strategic plan for 2011–2015 and successive municipality action plans are the basic sources of information for the investigation regarding political, architectural and social aspects, providing legal instruments and collaborative forms between the residents and municipal governments in building up creative class resources for long‐term sustainable development. During the investigation a wide range of methods were employed, including collection of data and examination of archive documents, onsite surveys, mapping and evaluation of the cultural and architectural heritage of Macedonian cities and regions, and interviews and collaborative meetings with municipal and civic representatives. The findings outline the general branding strategy for the Macedonian cities, adjoined with a spectrum of interventions for site‐specific adaptive design concepts aimed to employ their unique physical and cultural identities in order to brand themselves successfully. In this paper, we present our first case study, the Remediation Project for the Quay of the River Dragor, which was completed in 2014 in cooperation with the Municipality of Bitola, and was produced to set the standards and the formula for the success of the city branding. Following the objectives of the Strategic Plan for Local Development of the Bitola Municipality 2009–2014, this project highlights the primacy of environmental protection for sustainable development as the basis of the integrated design strategy that relies on ecological principles. On a political level, it pioneers the grounds on which architecture expands its disciplinary assumptions, goals, institutional, legal and financial tools in the municipal policies of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the light of challenges to sustainable development in the post‐2015 development agenda, this paper assesses how increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions affect inclusive human development in 44 countries in sub‐Saharan Africa for the period 2000–2012. The following findings are established from Fixed Effects and Tobit regressions: first, unconditional effects and conditional impacts are respectively positive and negative from CO2 emissions per capita, CO2 emissions from liquid fuel consumption, and CO2 intensity. This implies a Kuznets‐shaped curve because of consistent decreasing returns; and second, the corresponding net effects are consistently positive. The following findings are apparent from Generalized Method of Moments regressions: first, unconditional effects and conditional impacts are respectively negative and positive from CO2 emissions per capita, CO2 emissions from liquid fuel consumption, and CO2 intensity. This implies a U‐shaped curve because of consistent increasing returns; and second, the corresponding net effects are overwhelmingly negative. Based on the robust findings and choice of best estimator, the net effect of increasing CO2 emissions on inclusive human development is negative. Policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global agenda of sustainable development (SD) will get a major boost from the successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries. This requires effective planning and understanding of the SDGs at the national level and developing sound SDG indicators that account for country priorities. Currently, there is no formal SDG indicator set in India, but the process for it is underway. This paper has attempted to propose a unique technique for identifying the most representative indicator set for SD measurement in India based on the SDGs. Considering the needs and preferences of the country, a three‐stage process is proposed to develop the priority indicator set. The application of the approach has been presented for SDG 7, which relates to energy. This is supported with a background on India's SD progress. The proposed technique is simple yet effective, and can be easily replicated by other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global multiregional input-output databases (GMRIOs) became the standard tool for tracking environmental impacts through global supply chains. To date, several GMRIOs are available, but the numerical results differ. This paper considers how GMRIOs can be made more robust and authoritative. We show that GMRIOs need detail in environmentally relevant sectors. On the basis of a review of earlier work, we conclude that the highest uncertainty in footprint analyses is caused by the environmental data used in a GMRIO, followed by the size of country measured in gross domestic product (GDP) as fraction of the global total, the structure of the national table, and only at the end the structure of trade. We suggest the following to enhance robustness of results. In the short term, we recommend using the Single country National Accounts Consistent footprint approach, that uses official data for extensions and the national table for the country in question, combined with embodiments in imports calculated using a GMRIO. In a time period of 2 to 3 years, we propose work on harmonized environmental data for water, carbon, materials, and land, and use the aggregated Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Inter-Country Input-Output GMRIO as default in combination with detailing procedures developed in, for example, the EXIOBASE and Eora projects. In the long term, solutions should be coordinated by the international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) Statistical Division, OECD, and Eurostat. This could ensure that when input-output tables and trade data of individual countries are combined, that the global totals are consistent and that bilateral trade asymmetries are resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective, we theoretically interpret and empirically testify the mutual promotions between inclusive finance, entrepreneurship, and development. To do so, a two‐period overlapping generation model is introduced to interpret the mechanism, and then a panel vector auto‐regression model based on 31 provinces (and municipalities) in China from 2005 to 2016 is constructed. We find that: (a) Due to the development‐promoting ability, self‐reinforcing ability and multiplying effect, it is possible and worthy to construct a sustainable developing system. (b) However, an insufficient human capital endowment might be a critical obstacle, which is revealed as a precondition of this sustainable system. (c) Moreover, it is necessary to promote sustainable development of financial inclusion and entrepreneurship, due to the lack of directly promoting effect from economic development. (d) Thus, governmental complement is indispensable because of polarization led by the endowed wealth gap, and continuous promotion is appealed due to the transforming lag of mutual promoting feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the endogenous development ( ED) approach has gained influence within the rhetoric of European rural development policies ( RP). This paper provides a fundamental critique of the approach and shows that neither the economic elements of RP in general nor ED in particular are targeted towards the specific economic needs and capabilities of rural areas. The second part of this paper consists of the search for possible alternative concepts for a more targeted and effective RP. Based on a synopsis of existing theories, an integrated approach is proposed that builds upon the different coordination mechanisms for economic activity suggested by different theories. The new, integrated perspective enables an economic characterisation of rural areas and indicates that the successful support of local coordination of economic activity is determined by specific local conditions. It also makes evident that localised approaches usually cannot compensate rural areas for the lack of agglomeration advantages. Therefore, programmes for the economic development of rural areas which support the local coordination of economic activity remain a second-best policy. As such, they do not free the state from policies of spatial redistribution if the political aim is the creation of comparable living conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Energy is needed for economic growth, and access to cheap, reliable energy is an essential development objective. Historically most incremental energy demand has been met through fossil fuels; however, in future that energy will have to be low carbon and ultimately zero-carbon. Decarbonization can and needs to happen at varying speeds in all countries, depending on national circumstances. This article reviews the implications of a transition to low-carbon energy on economic growth and development in current low-income countries. It sets out empirical findings about trajectories for energy intensity and emissions intensity of economic growth; explores pathways to accelerate decarbonization; reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on economic costs and co-benefits of energy decarbonization; and assesses analytical approaches. It discusses the opportunities that might arise in terms of a cleaner, more dynamic and more sustainable growth model, and the options for developing countries to implement a less-carbon intensive model of economic development. WIREs Clim Change 2018, 9:e495. doi: 10.1002/wcc.495 This article is categorized under: Climate Economics > Economics and Climate Change, Climate and Development > Decoupling Emissions from Development [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I present two system dynamics models and simulators to explore sustainability and limits to growth in industrial society. I first describe a small model of the fishing industry. I then use the same model as a metaphor to think about global growth and industrialization and to interpret the closed-loop feedback structure and dynamics of Jay Forrester's World Dynamics model. This famously concise (yet dynamically intricate) model represents an industrial society whose growth is eventually curtailed. My approach with both models is to investigate the feedback structure surrounding investment policy. Building on this material, I examine the value of metaphorical models for interpreting puzzling phenomena in business and society. Finally, I discuss generic coordination problems in managing the growth of firms, industries and society. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents the theoretical foundations for the sustainable development of a Russian region's industrial system. For this study, we made an assessment of the production activities of the Rostov region's light‐manufacturing enterprises. The light‐industrial sector of the Rostov region's economy has been characterized, and the level of sustainable development of the region's enterprises has been calculated. The algorithm of development strategy was developed based on the rational use of natural resources. We have worked out several innovative proposals and calculated the cost‐effectiveness of their implementation in the region's light‐manufacturing enterprises. The economic and mathematical decision‐making model is based on the analytic hierarchy process, and the optimization calculation results that we obtained are presented in the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generating massive investment for growth and development has been one of the main policy goals of most economies around the globe. Countries, most especially developing ones, are highly susceptible to investment volatility owing largely to the fragile nature of their economies as well as weaknesses in terms of dysfunctional institutions. Therefore, sound economic management suggests the need to better understand possible sources for mitigating the adverse effects of investment volatility. Remittances have been identified as important capital flows which do a good job of dousing macroeconomic volatilities. It is on this basis that the study sought to uncover the causal relationship between remittances and investment volatility via the intermediating role of institutions. Using a panel of 70 countries and the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator, three insightful outcomes come to the fore. First, remittances played countercyclical roles across the estimated regressions. Second, institutional quality had no significant role in mitigating investment volatility and lastly, the interactive terms of both remittances and institutions significantly mitigated the negative impacts of investment volatility with the exception of the political component of the institutional architecture. Policy suggestions are drawn based on our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim of facilitating the long-term transformation towards a sustainable future, the research field of sustainability transition has gained growing attention. A number of approaches have been proposed to understand or even manage the complex societal transition processes towards sustainable development. There are four popular approaches for sustainability transitions, i.e. the multi-phase concept, multi-level perspective, strategic niche management and transition management. However, there is a lack of studies to systematically review and critically reflect on these various approaches in this emerging field. This paper presents a holistic review of the four most common approaches, and more importantly identifies four critical challenges for the future studies on transition approaches. Consequently, the associated future research agenda is presented. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the UK, City Deals, essentially bespoke packages of funding and decision-making negotiated between national government and local authorities, are increasingly taking centre stage in promoting economic growth. Each City Deal is seen to reflect the needs of individual cities and their surrounding regions, and each has its own distinctive funding and development agenda. Although the City Deal model has been broadly welcomed by national and local political leaders, concerns have been more widely expressed about its operation and effectiveness. This paper outlines the development and characteristics of the City Deals programme and offers a reflective commentary on a number of issues surrounding the programme, namely, accountability and evaluation, the relationship between the local and national states, the role of planning, and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building sustainability knowledge on the web is a vital path towards surpassing the barriers that could hinder sustainable development in any country in general. This paper presents the results of examining digital sustainability knowledge in the Arab world. A thorough examination and statistical analysis were performed on sustainable development websites that exist in all Arab countries during a specific period of time. The Global System for Sustainable Development (GSSD) is the knowledge management system used to store the sustainability knowledge in the region. The system is designed to be used by decision makers, scientists, educators and knowledge seekers. The main strength of the system is that it points users to needed knowledge on sustainable development that exists on the web. The search engine is the main driver and speakers of different languages can use it. Results indicate that most of the Arab countries have the same sustainable knowledge profile by showing existing problems and not solutions. Most of the information deals with issues related to wars and conflicts, migration and dislocation, and unmet basic needs, which reflect the political and social situation in many Arab countries. The paper concludes with some recommendations on how to improve sustainability knowledge on the web in the region. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green growth, the promotion of energy efficiency and clean energy technologies and sustainable development are frequently viewed as complementary goals by international policymakers. This paper argues that green growth will not ensure sustainable economic development as long as global ecosystem degradation and loss means that the world continues to face worsening problems of ecological scarcity - the loss of myriad benefits, or 'services', as these systems are exploited for human use and activity. Overcoming this problem requires addressing further sustainability and funding challenges. The sustainability challenge is to overcome a vast array of market, policy and institutional failures that prevents recognition of the economic significance of this scarcity. The funding challenge is to bridge the shortfall between the global benefits that humankind receives from ecosystems and what we are willing to pay to maintain and conserve them. Improving economic and scientific analysis of ecological scarcity, valuing the loss in benefits, and translating the implications into policy are the key steps for addressing the sustainability challenge. Exploring and implementing a range of innovative financing mechanisms, from international payments for ecosystem services to financial and currency transactions taxes to international financing facilities are possibilities for alleviating the funding challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how a nuclear power corporation integrates sustainability into corporate strategies and practices. The case study focuses on one of the world's largest nuclear power generators and describes the corporate capture of sustainable development in its strategic efforts to promote a growth strategy. The paper shows how corporate strategies to address sustainability concerns involve managing different stakeholders, enabling the corporation to sustain its economic growth strategy. Three types of stakeholder management strategy are identified: reinforcement strategies for supportive stakeholders, containment strategies for obstructive stakeholders and stabilization strategies for passive stakeholders. The paper argues that, despite claims of sustainable development in the nuclear industry, there is no significant shift in the 'business as usual' approach and that sustainable development is merely reframed as sustainable growth. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the complementary relationship between commercial banks and microfinance institutions in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) as a means to sustain economic growth. Using panel data on seven countries from 1999 to 2005 with the Feasible Generalized Least Squares and the AR(1) disturbances, the study indicates that the banking and microfinance sectors are prone to operating individually, and that banks benefit from microfinance activities. A joint effort of both sectors in facing credit allocation appears to be very significant over the single action of microfinance institutions. The study, therefore, suggests a joint or complementary approach through savings management to face the challenge of the economic growth in the Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theories of Corporate Social Performance (CSP) have been criticized for lacking a clear normative theory of business in society capable of prescribing how management practice can reasonable move from ‘what is’ to ‘what should be’. This paper argues for a pragmatic approach to the role and responsibility of business in society in which the normative deficiencies of CPS theory can be strengthened through democratic iterations over some or the other ethical treatise, and thus come to constitute a justified foundation for companies' efforts in the societal arena. We illustrate our approach to a normative theory of business in society by reinterpreting the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) – constituting the normative foundation of CSP theory – from the vantage point of sustainable development. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of this editorial research article is to start making sense out of the seemingly limitless debate on the environmental dimension of sustainable development. We have evaluated a collection of international peer-reviewed papers. These contributions have been debated at the conferences of the International Sustainable Development Research Society (ISDRS). Our main research objective here is to consider the often posed question of why the progress made in sustainable development has been so slow and the work implemented so unsuccessful. We argue that one of the main explanations is that the approaches used in sustainable development are reductionist and often lead into problem shifting and problem displacement. To address the problem of reductionism, we propose what we call ‘strategic thinking’ and its incorporation into sustainable development work in general. To open up this argument, we arrive at the discussion of three central dimensions of strategic thinking and the relevance of these dimensions when addressing reductionism. These dimensions are the strategy content, strategy process and strategy context. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate scientists point to a number of unsustainable trends concerning the environment and natural resources. There is also ongoing concern about poverty reduction, labor rights, and other social aspects of sustainable development. Growing numbers argue that change is required, but still at issue is the extent of change and how to facilitate it. In this paper, the focus is on the dominant interpretive schema of influential actors with respect to ideas about science in society, paradigms in economics, and ideological orientations. The authors argue that the monopolistic position of neoclassical economics at university departments of economics in different parts of the world, and the spread of its associated technocratic logic within broader policy arenas, should be abandoned in favor of a more ideologically open attitude that facilitates discussion and debate within academia, public policy, and in civil society more generally. In a sense, economics requires “democratization” with implications for approaches to sustainability monitoring, accounting, and the assessment of projects and policies. The paper provides suggestions for developing sustainability assessment technologies and practices that take pluralism seriously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power has long been recognised as crucial to the sustainability of community development interventions; however, the way in which space affects power relations within such interventions has remained relatively under-theorised in the development literature. Many practitioners continue to regard power as located centrally and as embedded in particular institutions, networks, knowledge and resources. According to this logic, processes of empowerment involve the redistribution of these resources to marginalised groups through their participation in development interventions such as microfinance and sustainable livelihood initiatives. The danger inherent in such development approaches is that they can discourage the potential for participants to use their own agency by overemphasising an existing lack of resources locally and inadvertently feeding a sense of dependency on formal development interventions initiated by external agencies. This paper suggests that a post-structural conceptualisation of power as dynamic, multiple and mediated at the local level offers a more productive starting point for thinking about approaches to empowerment. Drawing on data from an action research project designed to initiate community enterprises in a small rural municipality in the Philippines, I suggest how a post-structural approach to power can be enacted by building on the existing local resources and practices of everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenge facing marketing (and business) is letting go of old assumptions and embarking on a journey of unprecedented uncertainty towards a more sustainable marketplace. Current marketing approaches are called into question in this paper and it is argued that they fail to represent adequately – and far less to confront – our relationships with products and the natural environment. This paper challenges marketing in this respect, investigating the consequences of putting marketing into an ecological context. By using the generative and creative power of metaphors we attempt to draw the sustainability debate away from the language of the mechanistic world; where matter is regarded as inert, mute, passive and exploitable. By using the ‘living product’ metaphor as a tool for change we explore the potential for a reorientation towards organizational–environmental configurations that are dynamic and flexible and provide space for dealing with uncertainty. These concepts are then illustrated in a number of practical examples, providing an insight into the potential of marketing in our search towards a more sustainable marketplace. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a surprising gap in the economic literature on social capital. First, we lack studies addressing the effects of social capital on those facets of development that can contribute in making growth more sustainable in the long run, like, for example, human development and social cohesion. Second, it is still unclear what type of networks may exert a positive effect on the different dimensions of development. In particular, the literature has not yet provided a rigorous assessment of the role of strong family ties, that are generally referred to as a form of bonding social capital causing backwardness. This paper investigates the relationship between the three types of social capital so far identified by the literature (i.e. bonding, bridging and linking), and the “quality” of economic development, as expressed by human development and an index of social well-being summarizing the state of health of urban ecosystems, public services, gender equality, and labour markets. The empirical analysis is articulated in two stages carried out by means of a multivariate analysis and of a structural equations models analysis. The results suggest that the linking social capital shaped by voluntary organizations has significantly positive effect on human development, but is irrelevant for social well-being. The bonding social capital shaped by strong family ties negatively affects human development, but significantly fosters the quality of life, mainly through a reduction of workers' precariousness. The bridging social capital of weak ties connecting friends and acquaintances follows the pattern of bonding social capital: it is reinforced by strong family ties and has significantly negative effect on human development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is part of the Special Issue of European Environment devoted to the outputs of the EU SRDTOOLS project, which has developed and applied a new model of regional sustainable development evaluation. The paper demonstrates how the SRDTOOLS methodology has been practically applied for the case of Prague, and the constraints to application of the methodology that have arisen during its usage in real conditions. A significant part of the paper is devoted to exploring the regional strategic programming documents and the regional developmental objective review in terms of the four-capital model. Subsequently, the process of urban sprawl has been selected to test deeply the methodology of trade-offs, critical trends and thresholds. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is part of the special issue of European Environment devoted to the outputs of the EU SRDTOOLS project,1 which developed and applied a new model of regional sustainable development evaluation. The paper introduces the concept and framework of the four-capital model, which was used in the project. First it discusses some issues around sustainable development evaluation, before introducing the theory of the four-capital model. It then describes how indicators can be used to evaluate programmes such as those financed by the EU Structural Funds against criteria for sustainable regional development in terms of the four capitals. An ‘ideal’ indicator set is listed in the appendix. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural areas in Europe have increasingly become cast as places of nature, and so consideration of sustainable rural development is preoccupied with the management and protection of environmental and natural resources. Yet rural areas are also places of business, commerce and living. This paper examines the character and treatment of rural economies in England over the past decade. It sets out some of the challenges for the socio-economic development of rural areas, and explains how concerns about sustainable rural economies have come to be eclipsed within central government by those of ‘greening farming’ on the one hand and urban policy on the other. The paper concludes by discussing how the role of rural areas and rural economies might be creatively rethought in the context of regional and sub-regional territorial development strategies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]