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Evolutionary Economic Theories of Sustainable Development

Author

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  • Peter Mulder
  • Jeroen C.J.M. Van Den Bergh

Abstract

Sustainable development has become the dominant concept in the study of interactions between the economy and the biophysical environment, as well as a generally accepted goal of environmental policy. So far, economists have predominantly applied standard or neo‐classical theory to environmental economic problems. In this article it will be argued that to fully understand a transformation of the economic system towards sustainability, standard environmental economics needs to be complemented by an evolutionary approach, that focuses the attention on irreversible, path‐dependent change and long‐run mutual selection of environmental and economic processes and systems. The article provides an overview of the main existing evolutionary contributions to environmental economics. Furthermore, a number of research directions of an evolutionary approach in environmental economics are discussed. It is suggested that such an approach should go beyond evolutionary theories of technical change, which dominate evolutionary economics so far, by including co‐evolution of economy and environment, sustainable consumption, endogenous preference change, and climate change modeling.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Mulder & Jeroen C.J.M. Van Den Bergh, 2001. "Evolutionary Economic Theories of Sustainable Development," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 110-134.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:32:y:2001:i:1:p:110-134
    DOI: 10.1111/0017-4815.00152
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    Cited by:

    1. M. Isabel Sánchez-Hernández & Juan José Maldonado-Briegas, 2023. "The EntreComp Framework in Practice: A Case Study Linking Employability, Entrepreneurship, and Regional Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-20, August.
    2. Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh, 2014. "Sustainable development in ecological economics," Chapters, in: Giles Atkinson & Simon Dietz & Eric Neumayer & Matthew Agarwala (ed.), Handbook of Sustainable Development, chapter 3, pages 41-54, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Sedat KUSGOZOGLU & M. Sakir BASARAN & Selcuk KENDIRLI, 2014. "Expansion for Who, Markets or The Poor?," Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, Alliance of Central-Eastern European Universities, vol. 3(4), pages 59-68, December.
    4. Carrillo-Hermosilla, Javier, 2006. "A policy approach to the environmental impacts of technological lock-in," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 717-742, July.
    5. Seeme Mallick & Naghmana Ghani, 2005. "A Review of the Relationship between Poverty, Population Growth, and Environment," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 44(4), pages 597-614.
    6. Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh, 2004. "Evolutionary Analysis of the Relationship between Economic Growth, Environmental Quality and Resource Scarcity," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 04-048/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    7. M.A.B. Siddique & M.A. Quaddus, 2013. "Sustainable development planning and DSS tools: what’s next?," Chapters, in: M. A. Quaddus & M. A.B. Siddique (ed.), Handbook of Sustainable Development Planning, chapter 15, pages 359-380, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Massimiliano Mazzanti & Giovanni Marin & Susanna Mancinelli & Francesco Nicolli, 2015. "Carbon dioxide reducing environmental innovations, sector upstream/downstream integration and policy: evidence from the EU," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 42(4), pages 709-735, November.
    9. Jeroen Bergh, 2007. "Evolutionary thinking in environmental economics," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 521-549, October.
    10. Shantha Indrajith Hikkaduwa Liyanage & Fulu Godfrey Netswera, 2022. "Greening Universities with Mode 3 and Quintuple Helix Model of Innovation–Production of Knowledge and Innovation in Knowledge-Based Economy, Botswana," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 1126-1156, June.
    11. Ekaterina Yatskovskaya & Jagjit Singh Srai & Mukesh Kumar, 2018. "Integrated Supply Network Maturity Model: Water Scarcity Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-26, March.
    12. Qing Pei & David D Zhang & Guodong Li & Harry F Lee, 2015. "Climate Change and the Macroeconomic Structure in Pre-Industrial Europe: New Evidence from Wavelet Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-17, June.
    13. Joan Hoffman, 2008. "Census Peek: Collaboration in the New York City Catskill/Delaware Watershed: Case Study 1990–2000," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 129-156, April.
    14. Giulio Cainelli & Massimiliano Mazzanti & Simone Borghesi, 2012. "The European Emission Trading Scheme and environmental innovation diffusion: Empirical analyses using Italian CIS data," Working Papers 201201, University of Ferrara, Department of Economics.
    15. Pierre Le Masne, 2012. "Sustainable Development: The Teachings of the Physiocrats and the Classics," Chapters, in: Blandine Laperche & Nadine Levratto & Dimitri Uzunidis (ed.), Crisis, Innovation and Sustainable Development, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. M. A. Quaddus & M. A.B. Siddique (ed.), 2013. "Handbook of Sustainable Development Planning," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14372.
    17. Luciano Ferreira Silva & Arnoldo José Hoyos Guevara & Ernesto D. R. Santibanez Gonzalez & Paulo Sergio Gonçalves Oliveira, 2019. "Evolution toward environment sustainable behavior: search for survival in the plastic industry in Brazil," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 1291-1320, June.
    18. Agnieszka Stanowicka, 2021. "The role of universities in urban development on the example of Polish cities," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 9(1), pages 680-691, September.
    19. Gunes UNAL & Sakir Basaran & Selcuk KENDIRLI, 2014. "Sustainable Environment and in the Context of Environment Economy Necessary and an Analyse," Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, Alliance of Central-Eastern European Universities, vol. 3(4), pages 5-14, December.
    20. Konnola, Totti & Unruh, Gregory C. & Carrillo-Hermosilla, Javier, 2006. "Prospective voluntary agreements for escaping techno-institutional lock-in," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 239-252, May.
    21. Rammel, Christian & van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M., 2003. "Evolutionary policies for sustainable development: adaptive flexibility and risk minimising," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2-3), pages 121-133, December.
    22. Simone Borghesi & Giulio Cainelli & Massimiliano Mazzanti, 2012. "Brown Sunsets and Green Dawns in the Industrial Sector: Environmental Innovations, Firm Behavior and the European Emission Trading," Working Papers 2012.03, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    23. Gunes UNAL & Sakir Basaran & Selcuk KENDIRLI, 2014. "Sustainable Environment and in the Context of Environment Economy Necessary and an Analyze," International Conference on Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Spiru Haret University, vol. 1(1), pages 318-326, December.
    24. Totti Könnölä & Gregory C. Unruh & Javier Carrillo- Hermosilla, 2005. "IE WP 23/04 Prospective Voluntary Agreements to Escape Carbon Lock-in," Others 0509005, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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