What is “Sustainable Economic Development”?

The following quotation by David Pearce and Edward Barbier provides an excellent answer to what sustainable economic development is: “…the various economic policies and instruments available for ensuring that the economy is able to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the economic system, including its environmental resource base, to meet the needs of the future generations.”

The goal of a sustainable economy is to reach current goals without limiting the future for others. How are goals attained?

Sustainable Economic Development:

• Evaluates positive and negative impacts of business/industry
• Emphasizes value over long term, not short term
• Emphasizes local business/economy

For a community, sustainable economic development takes all of these points into consideration before making goals for the future. Goals for a sustainable future include:

• Involving community members
• Getting a living wage vs. a minimum wage
• Building an alternative economy

Below are resources an individual/community can use to evaluate and make goals for the future of a community.

Case Studies & Examples
In Letcher County Kentucky, members of the Letcher County Action Team have worked to improve the local economy in a sustainable manner. They have implemented a recycling program, emphasized their local economy and promoted sustainable business in the area. Their work has been instrumental moving Letcher County to a more sustainable future.

Links to other examples:

• Chattanooga's Adventure in Revitalization
• Owsley County Action Team
• Appalachian Community Development Association
• Ecotourism Takes Off in the "Heart of Appalachia"

Evaluating Your Local Economy

• Community Tool Box Troubleshooting Guide
• Developing an Evaluation Plan
• If the GDP is Up, Why is America Down?

Economic Indicators

• Measuring Progress…What are Indicators?
• Your Guide to Regional Economic Activity

Regional NGOs

• The Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet)
• Appalachian Sustainable Development
• Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED)
• Livingston Economic Alternatives in Progress (LEAP)
• Brushy Fork Institute (Appalachian leadership and community development)

National NGOs

• Million Solar Roofs
• National Center for Appropriate Technology
• Counselors to America’s Small Business
• Solutions for Growing Business
• Enterprise Development Corporation

Government Agencies

• Business Opportunities
• Appalachian Regional Commission
• U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (Rural Economy and Community)
• Census Bureau Economic Programs
• Population and Household Economic Topics

Books

• Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing Communities’ Assets
  John Kretzmann/John McKnight
• Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age
  Michael H. Shuman (New York: The Free Press, 1998)
• A Very Popular Economic Education Sampler
  (The Highlander Research and Education Center 1959 Highlander Way, New MaApril 10, 2007 6:02 PMics">Beyond Globalization: Shaping a Sustainable Global Economy
  Hazel Henderson (West Hartford: Kumarian Press Inc, 1999)
• Blueprint: For a Sustainable Economy
  David Pearce and Edward Barbier (London: Earthscan Publications, 2000)
• Green Markets: The Economics of Sustainable Development
  Theodore Panayotou (San Francisco: ICS Press, 1993)