Overconsumption and sustainable development in Denmark and globally

Abstract

The present paper amplifies developments in genuine savings in the Danish economy, as an expression of whether national capital stocks are adapted in parallel with the reduction in oil and gas capital, or economic overconsumption is in evidence. It is concluded that Denmark, as other high-income nations, has not seen any lasting problems in terms of genuine savings over the last three decades. New analyses are introduced, presenting global patterns in genuine saving, and it turns out that a number of low-income nations have had a permanent economic overconsumption over one or more of the preceding decades. Thus, the major issue facing Denmark in terms of sustainable development is not a deterioration of the capital basis of our economy, but its conversion to an ecologically sustainable one. Another important issue is how high-income nations can contribute to ensuring the capital basis of developing nations.