Sustainability Research and Assessment: the Role of Economics

Abstract

  Sustainability is a vast theme stemming from global environmental issues to social development. Although the term “sustainability development” is often used in the field discussion, no operational definition of sustainability in fact exists, making it difficult to conduct research and assessment in sustainability. This paper first discusses the current states of global sustainability, by addressing major environmental issues and socio-economic perspectives. I then argue that a holistic approach is necessary in sustainability research and assessment through specific research examples in economics. I show that economics plays a crucial role in sustainability research in that it provides not only important tools in dealing with uncertainty and complexity of different systems, but also useful information for policy making through valuation methods.