Sustainable Development and the Problem of Economic Inequality

Abstract

Sustainable development is a complex concept, and most descriptions of the process involve aggregate measures of wealth and capital stock, along with some problems of aggregation and valuation of these stocks. Sustainable development essentially seeks to reduce the inter-generational inequality by trying to ensure that the current generation does not consume and exhaust too much resources such that future generations have a difficult time leading a life that is at least as good as that of the current generation. An important macroeconomic feature of any economy is the extent of inequality in income and wealth experienced by the current generation. The intra-generational inequalities constrain sustainable development. Few who have too much can afford to waste resources and still bequest adequate amounts to their next generation. The many who have too few often struggle and overuse resources, thereby creating environmental stress. The more the inequalities the greater the environmental problems, making sustainable development that much more difficult. Hence, the reduction of intra-generational inequalities is an integral part of the process of sustainable development. This paper discusses some views on inequalities and the alternative ways of addressing a key problem of sustainable development.