Genuine Saving and Weak Sustainability: a critical approach to the Spanish case in the long run (1955-2010)

Resumen

 This paper takes a critical approach to Genuine Saving (GS) for the Spanish case. Based on the standard methodology used by the World Bank, it extends the series backwards, covering the period 1955-2010. The objective is to assess to what extent this indicator can offer complementary information for a better understanding of Spanish economic growth for that period and its environmental effects. The main conclusion is that GS provides some interesting information that can enrich the standard view of growth but presents many problems in properly measuring the depletion of natural resources and the environmental damage caused by growth. Taking these problems into account, the measurement of GS seems to be strongly biased by the evolution of GDP and therefore does not seem capable of reaching reliable conclusions about sustainability even in its weak sense.

Palabras clave:

Genuine Saving, sustainability, environmental indicators

Citas

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