A utilitarian notion of responsibility for sustainability

Research output: Working paperWorking papers

Authors

We develop and formalize a utilitarian notion of responsibility for sustainability which is inspired by Singer's (1972) principle and the Brundtland Commission?s notion of sustainability (WCED 1987). We relate this notion of responsibility to established criteria for the assessment of intertemporal societal choice, namely Pareto-efficiency, (discounted) utilitarian welfare maximization, and Brundtland-sustainability. Using a two-generationsresource- model, we find the following. Sustainability and responsibility for sustainability are equivalent if and only if sustainability is feasible. If it is not, there still exists a responsible allocation which is also Pareto-efficient. Further, the utilitarian welfare maximum without discounting always fulfills the criterion of responsibility. Discounting may be responsible to a certain extent if sustainability is feasible. If sustainability is not feasible, discounting is not responsible.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationLüneburg
PublisherInstitut für Volkswirtschaftslehre der Universität Lüneburg
Number of pages24
Publication statusPublished - 2012

    Research areas

  • Sustainability Science - basic needs, Brundtland, discounting, ethics, natural resources, Pareto efficiency, responsibility, Singer, sustainability, utilitarianism
  • Economics

Documents

Recently viewed

Activities

  1. Observing Videos of Teachers’ Own or Others’ Classrooms. What Do Teachers Learn When They Analyze Two Different Video Types?
  2. Forum Erdkunde 2012
  3. The Potential of Classroom Videos to Support Teacher Reflection. What Do Teachers Learn When They Analyze Different Video-Materials in Various Instructional Approaches?
  4. Künstliche Intelligenz in der Hochschullehre
  5. Morgan O’Hara: Live Transmissions - 2018
  6. Putting the Instructional Leadership–Student Achievement Relation in Context: A Meta-Analytical Big Data Study Across Cultures and Time
  7. Multilingual skills at the transition from school into vocational education and training: Students’ perceptions and experiences
  8. How do Professional Gratification Crises affect the Health of School Leaders? Analysing the Relationship between the ERI Model and Burnout.
  9. Transdisciplinary Integration in Teacher Education. Theoretical Foundations and Empirical Insights [Conference Canceled]
  10. Best-Practice-Beispiel IHS-Projekt „TrICo“
  11. Senat (Organisation)
  12. Environmental fate of Methotrexate:photodegradation, biodegradability and mutagenicity assessment
  13. Problem Pressure, DRGs, and the Role of and Ideas in Healthcare System Change
  14. Conference Resistance
  15. Jahrestagung des Netzwerks Kindertheologie - 2015
  16. "Critique as Method" Position Paper
  17. Teacher education in Germany: basic information and an example for linking theory and practice in the teacher education network in Lüneburg
  18. Guter oder schlechter Unterricht? Unterrichtsanalyse in der Lehrerbildung. Vortrag.
  19. Academy of Management Journal (Fachzeitschrift)