The influence of economic theories on sustainable development

Abstract

The main purpose of this thesis is to present a theoretical discussion about the influence of different economic theories on the concept and strategies to achieve sustainable development in its three spheres: economic, social and environmental. It presents different perspectives on the sustainability of the economic growth process. It explores the loss of ethical analysis along the history of economic thought and its implications to sustainable development. On the economic development sphere, it highlights the relations between the theories of international dependence and the liberal theories of economic development, on the one hand, with the economic thought of Karl Marx and Adam Smith/David Ricardo, respectively. There is an analysis of the compatibility between the economic and social spheres of sustainable development with a focus on the distribution of income among individuals. Under the social development sphere, it presents the capability approach of Amartya Sen as bringing back the classical conception of the economic system. It explores two versions of economics as a social science: neoclassical economic theory defending that all goods are scarce leading to the trivialization of the scarcity problem of natural resources; and classical economic theory defending that the economic system produces a surplus enhancing the importance of studying the management of natural resources. Under the environmental sphere of sustainable development, there is a discussion of two opposing currents: resource/environmental economics and ecological economics. These two currents bring us different versions of sustainability: weak and strong, with a connection to neoclassical economic theory and classical economic theory, respectively.

Date of Award	24 Jul 2017
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Nuno Martins (Supervisor)