Preface Acknowledgements Acronyms and abbreviations 1 Economics for Sustainability Sustainability as a contested concept
The vision of sustainable development: A short history
A short history of economic ideas
Tenets of neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics as narrative
Recent demand for alternatives to neoclassical economics
A comparative and pluralistic approach
2 Unsustainable and Sustainable Trends Competing interpretations of sustainable development
Toward a 'reasonable' interpretation of SD
Principles for multidimensional measurement: Thinking in non-monetary and positional terms
Efforts to counteract unsustainable trends: Millennium Development Goals
Efforts to counteract unsustainable trends: Environmental policy in the European Union
Efforts to counteract unsustainable trends: Environmental policy in Sweden and the municipality of Uppsala
A house construction project as example
A lot remains to be done
3 Sustainability Politics: Are there Protected Zones in the Development Dialogue? Protected zones in the development dialogue - overview
Criticism of science is largely avoided
Criticism of the monopoly of neoclassical economics is largely avoided
vi Understanding Sustainability EconomicsCriticism of the dominant economic growth ideology and neo-liberalism is largely avoided
Criticism of institutional arrangements is downplayed
A non-reductionist idea of responsibility and accountability
4 From Economic Man to Political Economic Person - Political economic person
From neoclassical theory of the firm to political economic organization
Democracy for problem-solving, security and sustainability
5 Interpretations of Non-Market and Market Relationships in Relation to Sustainability Ideological implications of the supply and demand model
An alternative interpretation of market relationships
A frame of reference for sustainability politics
6 Actors, Agendas and Arenas for Social and Institutional Change The neoclassical approach to social and institutional change processes
Understanding social and institutional change processes
Models and strategies for sustainable development
Inertia and flexibility
Examples of institutional change processes
A power game between groups with different ideological orientations
7 Approaches to Decision-Making and Sustainability Assessment The neoclassical narrative: Cost-benefit analysis
What are the alternatives to cost-benefit analysis?
Positional thinking in non-monetary terms
A classification of approaches
Positional analysis as a sustainability assessment model
Applied studies with positional analysis
Follow-up studies of projects, programmes and policies
8 Towards Sustainability Economics There are alternatives to neoclassical economics
Neo-liberalism as understood by civil society intellectuals
The combined impact of neoclassical economics and neo-liberalism
Unsustainable trends and path-dependence
Reconsidering institutions Reconsidering actor roles Action from below: Oscar Oliviera and Feng Xingzhongs Action from above: John Perkins and Joseph Stiglitz Epilogue References Index