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ARCHIVE: Economics of sustainable development

Interdepartmental review

On behalf of the Government Economic Service, Richard Price, Defra’s Chief Economist, is leading a review of the economics of sustainable development. Our Steering Group includes economists and sustainable development experts from across government, and draws on leading academics and other researchers in the field.

We aim to establish a clear analytical framework for considering sustainable development during policy development, appraisal and evaluation.

Final report - published 09 July 2010

The Final Report of the Review of the Economics of Sustainable Development is now available. The Review proposes a working definition of sustainable development, identifies considerations that policymakers need to understand when assessing whether an individual project or policy is consistent with the Government’s position on sustainable development and sets out the steps taken in the past year to implement these across Government.

This PDF also includes the Interim Report of the Review and a paper examining the links between wellbeing, economic growth and sustainability. Sustainable development means ensuring that future generations possess the ability to be at least as well-off as the current generation, and the paper discusses whether economic growth is appropriate, given its links to environmental damage, and explores how Government can ensure that we are passing enough wealth to future generations beyond individual policy appraisal.

Further information

Page last modified: 23 November 2010
Page published: 16 April 2009