Can Economics “Define” Sustainability?

La Science Économique peut-elle « définir » le développement durable ?

Vincent Martinet ()
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Vincent Martinet: UMR PSAE - Paris-Saclay Applied Economics - AgroParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, CEPS - Centre d'Economie de l'ENS Paris-Saclay - Université Paris-Saclay - ENS Paris Saclay - Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay

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Abstract: Is economics of any use for defining what sustainable development could be? This paper does not aim to answer that question, but rather to show how Gilles Rotillon, through his writings and collaborations, helped to raise it. I present the economic approach to the sustainable development issue, its main results, and then discuss its limits. I then offer a synthesis of various works I conducted with Gilles and later with other co-authors, and I put them in perspective with Gilles's writings on the role of economic modelling. I argue that the economic approach to sustainable development is not useless, but that the discipline must be part of a broader societal dialogue.

Keywords: Épargne véritable; Lois de conservation; Maximin; Viabilité; Invariance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07-01
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Published in Revue d'économie politique, 2026, Vol. 136 (3), pp.263-293. ⟨10.3917/redp.363.0013⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05697817

DOI: 10.3917/redp.363.0013

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