ABSTRACT
The question of sustainable development has received much attention, largely due to escalating concern over the world’s numerous environmental problems. Impressive GDP growth throughout the 1960s and 1970s has resulted in and given way to massive deforestation and voluminous mineral extraction, both of which have accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s. It has motivated scholars to ask whether Brazil is, or ever has been, on a sustainable development path. Empirical investigation of the question is hampered by a lack of consensus on a working definition of sustainable development. Some economists emphasize maintenance of social utility or simply GDP growth as a means of achieving sustainable development. According to this standard, development in Brazil has followed and, more important, continues to follow a sustainable path. Most interpretations of sustainable development focus on equity across generations, while downplaying the needs of the present generation—i.e., neglecting intragenerational equity.
