Constraints to Economic Growth: Sustainability, Happiness and Other Issues

Sustainability goes beyond the environmental aspect. It has several dimensions, often interconnected. Economic growth is sustainable if it is attentive to pollution and ecological balance, but also to demographic stability, which is threatened by a growing and ageing population and by increasing intergenerational tensions. Moreover, economic growth should be compatible with the availability of natural resources—especially food and energy—and be able to preserve a socio-institutional equilibrium in the long term. Key elements for this are the provision of adequate levels of education and training, the existence of job opportunities, and a fair and inclusive redistribution of the produced wealth. Finally, as emerged during the pandemic, there can be no economic growth without health sustainability. Sustainability constraints, both on the demand and on the supply side, must be taken very seriously. It is difficult to say whether economic policy and international cooperation will be sufficient to deal with these challenges. Perhaps even more difficult is to understand whether mankind will be able to make in time the necessary mind-change to bring growth back onto the tracks of sustainability. What is certain is that the current situation leaves no room for errors, indecisions or deferrals. Now more than ever, it is necessary to make the right choices. With urgency.