With issues like global warming and the loss of biodiversity becoming increasingly important to policymakers and scientists worldwide, the issue of sustainability cannot be ignored as we move toward the twenty-first century.

Not surprisingly, the sustainable management of the biosphere has in recent years been the subject of much attention among ecologists, environmental engineers, and other members of the scientific community. Yet although these issues are clearly rooted in economic behavior and organization, the question of sustainability is not one that has been addressed directly by...

This book focuses on the main issues of trade and development, and on the attainment of the major development goals generally espoused in the international community: rapid development in the Third World, sustained economic expansion in the industrial countries and the eradication of deep inequalities and of extreme poverty. It consists of four parts. The first three give an overall analysis of the world economy, with commentary and conclusions on major issues of trade and development. The fourth part provides the intuitive basis for the main results within the context of the formal models,...

In recent years, scientists have begun to focus on the idea that healthy, functioning ecosystems provide essential services to human populations, ranging from water purification to food and medicine to climate regulation. Lacking a healthy environment, these services would have to be provided through mechanical means, at a tremendous economic and social cost.