We propose a new criterion which reflects both the concern for welfare (utility) and the concern for rights in the evaluation of economic development paths. The concern for rights is captured by a pre-ordering over combinations of thresholds (floors or ceilings on various quantitative...

This paper examines how the viability approach can be used to define sustainability goals. In an economic model with a non renewable natural resource, we define minimal rights to be guaranteed for all generations. These rights can include a minimal consumption (economic goal) and the...

Two of the challenges of thinking sustainability are how to deal with potentially conicting issues and how to ensure intergenerational equity. In practice, policymakers define sustainability objectives by setting thresholds that act as constraints on indicators. When defining a specific...