Use and usefulness of sustainability economics

Sustainable development is at the roots of sustainability economics. Baumgärtner and Quaas (2010) define sustainability economics as the combination of economic efficiency and justice in the distribution of natureʹs services. Van den Bergh (in press) criticizes their approach as ‘axiomatic’ and incomplete, lacking a discussion of environmental externalities and dogmas like the ‘GDP dogma’. The focus on non-measurable welfare or happiness in both articles impairs the use and usefulness of their sustainability notions for applied economics and policy. Alternatively, environmentally modified national accounts offer a quantifiable sustainability concept of produced and natural capital maintenance. For practical reasons, sustainability economics should therefore deal with sustainable economic performance and growth. Coordination with other social goals has to be left to politics.