"The World Bank has been publishing estimates of adjusted net or "genuine" saving since 1999. This measure of saving treats depletion of natural resources as a type of economic depreciation. Hamilton uses recent theoretical results relating growth in saving to growth in future consumption to...

With the notable exception of China, in most countries with below-median per capita income the growth rate of the population is greater than that of total wealth. This trend is ultimately unsustainable. For many of these countries, policies for sustainability will require both boosting savings...