2001 Leontief Prize

2001 Leontief Prize
Awarded to Herman E. Daly & Paul P. Streeten

Dr. Paul Streeten, Professor Emeritus at Boston University, whose biographical highlights are lengthy enough to serve as an independent article, addressed the issues of environmental protection and sustainability. He posited that development and environmental sustainability are in harmony and not in conflict with each other (This presupposes a proper, all-encompassing definition of development). He stated that economic growth (measured as GDP) should not be the end objective of societies, but rather a by-product of thoughtful policy aimed at improving the environment and ameliorating social inequality. He divided all goods and services into “goods”, “bads”, and “anti-bads” (goods produced to counter bads). He then pointed out that societies have four choices to enhance environmental protection.

Dr. Herman Daly, currently a professor at the University of Maryland, addressed issues of scale economics, environmental sustainability, and social equity. He criticized neoclassical economics for emphasizing economic scale, without being concerned with the potential natural and environmental scarcity and degradation. He contended that economics ignores social equity and environmental sustainability, and argued for a more thorough study of the costs and benefits of actions rather than merely the benefits.