Economic Growth and the Environment: On the Measurement of Income and Welfare

Examining both open and closed economies, this book considers the possibility of adjusting traditional economic measures of income and welfare to account for natural resource extraction and environmental degradation. It presents and reviews the limitations of an operational method for measuring income from resource extraction in both of the economies. In the case of closed economies, the discussion considers the relationship between the income and global sustainability. It also considers the measurement of social welfare in relation to environmental issues and resource extraction. Theoretical material is complemented by case studies on petroleum extraction in Norway and soil degradation in Tanzania. The author challenges the view that environmental degradation is best included in welfare measurement, and argues that many of the proposals for adjusted welfare measurements are better interpreted as adjustments of national income.