Economics, Sustainability, and Natural Resources

The economics of sustainability is much more complex than the neoclassical (Newtonian) economic approach to economic efficiency. Forest resources provide the ideal starting point for the economic analysis of sustainability. This book provides a systematic critique of neoclassical economic approaches and their limitations with respect to sustainability. Leading economists from different streams of economics discuss key economic aspects of sustainability and sustainable forest management including complexity, ethical issues, consumer choice theory, intergenerational equity, non-convexities, and multiple equilibria. This is the book which integrates different streams of economics – complexity theory, behavioral economics, post-Keynesian consumer choice theory, social choice theory, and non-convexities – and suggests the main features of Post-Newtonian economics.

This book is followed by a companion book, Institutions, Sustainability, and Natural Resources: Institutions for Sustainable Forest Management, Volume 2 in the series.