Rethinking Development: Broadening the Goals and Altering the Approach

Abstract: A new strand of “sustainable development economics” (SDE) is reframing comparative economics. We summarize SDE’s three-part analytical challenge for each society: the need to “re-couple” progress on incomes with objective and subjective measures of human wellbeing; to “de-couple” progress on incomes from processes of environmental degradation; and to “we-couple” gains in living standards such that no group feels excluded from opportunities for progress. In this multi-dimensional context, economic systems are not judged on a single dimension ranging from “good” to “bad,” but instead relative to the different outcomes they generate across a range of domains. In investigating drivers of outcomes, SDE is agnostic regarding appropriate levels of aggregation and considers societal forces including business, academia, and civil society, in addition to public institutions and policies. Keywords: economic growth, environmental sustainability, inequality, economic systems, institutions, measurement