ABSTRACT
The challenge of articulating an economics of the social aspect of sustainability brings into sharp relief the inadequacy of the economics of sustainability as currently conceived. Somehow the economics of sustainability has come to be narrowly defi ned, inexplicably limited to the consideration of the environmental impact of individual market interactions in the private sector. The project of creating an economic understanding of the social aspect of sustainability-and sustainability more generally-will benefi t tremendously from incorporating work in three areas of economics that have made substantial progress in recent decades. Thus far largely overlooked by scholars working out the economics of sustainability, but absolutely critical, are (a) development economics work on human development as the proper aim of development efforts, (b) feminist economics incorporating paid and unpaid caring labor into our theory and analyses, and (c) recent research on the key contributions of the public sector to human well-being.
