Dasgupta, Partha (Lead Author); S. Niggol Seo (Topic Editor). 2008. Natural capital and economic growth. In: Encyclopedia of Earth, ed. Cutler J. Cleveland. Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Enviro

1.4.1.4 HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS: Simply sketched interactions - Wealth and capital In 1995, the World Bank released a first report in which it attempted to measure wealth as three forms of capital: produced assets, natural resources, and human resources. Originally the intent was to include social capital, but this was apparently dropped given the problems of measurement. These forms of capital represent an economic approach to human-environment interactions that yield very different indicators of wealth than that of standard “goods and services.” The Reading demonstrates that an economy’s productive base includes not only its capital assets (stocks of manufactured, human, and natural capital) but also its knowledge and institutions and shows how accounting for natural capital can make a substantial difference to our conception of the development process.

Dasgupta 2008 Natural capital and economic growth - Encyclopedia of Earth.pdf — PDF document, 194Kb