IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v14y2006i1p62-71.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An alternative definition of sustainable development using stability and chaos theories

Author

Listed:
  • Amir Abbas Rassafi

    (International University, Iran)

  • Hossain Poorzahedy

    (Sharif University of Technology, Iran)

  • Manouchehr Vaziri

    (Sharif University of Technology, Iran)

Abstract

This paper is an endeavour to give an alternative definition for sustainable development (SD). It reviews the previous works in this area, and finds common grounds of these works, namely dynamism and quantification of the system. The paper then discusses dynamic stability and relates it to the concept of sustainability. It constructs an analogy between sustainability objectives and dynamic stability. The discussion continues to introduce chaos as one inherent characteristic of socio-economic systems because of their nonlinear behaviour. A new definition of SD is then proposed. It is applied to the dynamic models that describe the inter-relationships of environmental, economic and social variables. Finally, an example system has been employed to show the applicability of the definition. Policy-related parameters have been chosen to show the conditions in which the system is sustainable. This exercise shows that the presented method of identifying the conditions of sustainability could be usefully exploited in making decisions at macro levels. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Amir Abbas Rassafi & Hossain Poorzahedy & Manouchehr Vaziri, 2006. "An alternative definition of sustainable development using stability and chaos theories," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(1), pages 62-71.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:14:y:2006:i:1:p:62-71
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.268
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/sd.268
    File Function: Link to full text; subscription required
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.268?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Oliva, Rogelio, 2003. "Model calibration as a testing strategy for system dynamics models," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(3), pages 552-568, December.
    2. David Pearce, 1988. "Optimal Prices for Sustainable Development," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: David Collard & David Pearce & David Ulph (ed.), Economics, Growth and Sustainable Environments, chapter 5, pages 57-66, Palgrave Macmillan.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Katie Williams & Carol Dair, 2007. "A framework of sustainable behaviours that can be enabled through the design of neighbourhood-scale developments," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(3), pages 160-173.
    2. Ludmila Petkovová & David Hartman & Tomáš Pavelka, 2020. "Problems of Aggregation of Sustainable Development Indicators at the Regional Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-20, September.
    3. Aysin Sev, 2009. "How can the construction industry contribute to sustainable development? A conceptual framework," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(3), pages 161-173.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francesco Tonini & Francesco Davide Sanvito & Fabrizio Colombelli & Emanuela Colombo, 2022. "Improving Sustainable Access to Electricity in Rural Tanzania: A System Dynamics Approach to the Matembwe Village," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Bob Walrave, 2016. "Determining intervention thresholds that change output behavior patterns," System Dynamics Review, System Dynamics Society, vol. 32(3-4), pages 261-278, July.
    3. Dutta, Amitava & Puvvala, Abhinay & Roy, Rahul & Seetharaman, Priya, 2017. "Technology diffusion: Shift happens — The case of iOS and Android handsets," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 28-43.
    4. Pedro Pérez-Cutillas & Pedro Baños Páez & Isabel Banos-González, 2020. "Variability of Water Balance under Climate Change Scenarios. Implications for Sustainability in the Rhône River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-22, August.
    5. Yeo, Gi-Tae & Pak, Ji-Yeong & Yang, Zaili, 2013. "Analysis of dynamic effects on seaports adopting port security policy," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 285-301.
    6. Navid Ghaffarzadegan & Richard C. Larson, 2018. "SD meets OR: a new synergy to address policy problems," System Dynamics Review, System Dynamics Society, vol. 34(1-2), pages 327-353, January.
    7. Benjamin L. Turner & Hector M. Menendez & Roger Gates & Luis O. Tedeschi & Alberto S. Atzori, 2016. "System Dynamics Modeling for Agricultural and Natural Resource Management Issues: Review of Some Past Cases and Forecasting Future Roles," Resources, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-24, November.
    8. Herrera, Milton M. & Dyner, Isaac & Cosenz, Federico, 2020. "Benefits from energy policy synchronisation of Brazil’s North-Northeast interconnection," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 427-437.
    9. Herrera, Milton M. & Dyner, Isaac & Cosenz, Federico, 2019. "Assessing the effect of transmission constraints on wind power expansion in northeast Brazil," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 1-1.
    10. Banos-González, Isabel & Martínez-Fernández, Julia & Esteve-Selma, Miguel Ángel, 2015. "Dynamic integration of sustainability indicators in insular socio-ecological systems," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 306(C), pages 130-144.
    11. Claude Henry, 1990. "Efficacité économique et impératifs éthiques : l'environnement en copropriété," Revue Économique, Programme National Persée, vol. 41(2), pages 195-214.
    12. Faucheux, Sylvie & Froger, Geraldine & Noel, Jean-Francois, 1995. "What forms of rationality for sustainable development?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 169-209.
    13. John Pastor Ansah & Shawn Tan Yi Wei & Tessa Lui Shi Min, 2020. "An evaluation of the impact of aggressive diabetes and hypertension management on chronic kidney diseases at the population level: a simulation analysis," System Dynamics Review, System Dynamics Society, vol. 36(4), pages 497-522, October.
    14. Yan, Ling & Jin, Jiming & Wu, Pute, 2020. "Impact of parameter uncertainty and water stress parameterization on wheat growth simulations using CERES-Wheat with GLUE," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    15. John C. V. Pezzey, 2004. "Sustainability Policy and Environmental Policy," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 106(2), pages 339-359, June.
    16. Eric Kemp-Benedict & Crystal Drakes & Timothy J. Laing, 2018. "Export-Led Growth, Global Integration, and the External Balance of Small Island Developing States," Economies, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-25, June.
    17. Abada, Ibrahim & Briat, Vincent & Massol, Olivier, 2013. "Construction of a fuel demand function portraying interfuel substitution, a system dynamics approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 240-251.
    18. Armenia, Stefano & Franco, Eduardo & Iandolo, Francesca & Maielli, Giuliano & Vito, Pietro, 2024. "Zooming in and out the landscape: Artificial intelligence and system dynamics in business and management," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    19. Keilhacker, Michael L. & Minner, Stefan, 2017. "Supply chain risk management for critical commodities: A system dynamics model for the case of the rare earth elements," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 349-362.
    20. Federico Cosenz & Guido Noto, 2016. "Applying System Dynamics Modelling to Strategic Management: A Literature Review," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(6), pages 703-741, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:14:y:2006:i:1:p:62-71. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.