Environmental sustainability, growth, and the future of jobs: a debate between Cliff Stainsby and Andrew Jackson

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Presents two articles, "Discarding a Deadly Fantasy" by Cliff Stainsby and "In Defense of (Sustainable) Growth" by Andrew Jackson. These two papers debate how to acheive full employment while simultaneously maintaining environmental sustainability. The first paper is a critique of Jackson's 'Future of Jobs'. It challenges the value of using GDP as a measure of well-being, raises important points regarding the finite nature of our resources and the capacity of the earth to absorb pollutants, and proposes a set of prerequisites for acheiving policy goals that are environmentally sustainable. The second paper is a partial rebuttal by Jackson, in which he defends the goal of economic growth. Jackson contends that the quality of growth matters as much as the quantity. In other words, growth is desirable, provided public policy can ensure it is based on the more environmentally efficient use of natural resources, and concentrated on value-added production of goods and services (public as well as private).