The Relationship Between Environmentally Sustainable Income, Employment and Wages in Australia

The environment is an asset that provides essential services. Like any other asset, its services will diminish as it depreciates. The environmentally sustainable income of a nation depends on a sustained flow of these services, and can be estimated by including the environment in a macroeconomic framework, with a goal to achieve both full employment and sustainability. The relationship of national income to employment is estimated at full employment, actual employment and the employment level that is necessary to maintain sustainable income, for the Australian economy. There proved to be a widening gap between actual income and environmentally sustainable income, and between actual income and income to guarentee full employment. Wage reduction and improvement of technology are analysed as possible ways to meet the goal of an environmentally sustainable income.     

Macroeconomics versus environmental‐macroeconomics*

When environmental macroeconomic frameworks replace standard macroeconomic frameworks differences in policy outcomes ensue. The non‐recognition of real environmental capacity constraints could explain the inability of standard frameworks to deliver on certain macroeconomic goals. Herein, environmental capital depreciation is internalised into analytic frameworks of factor utilisation, aggregate demand and aggregate supply. The analyses reveal that restricted income and wage domains alongside limited environmental capacity constrain economic performance. Hence, environmental capacity expansion and initiatives towards sustainability warrant specific attention. Illustrations are made with reference to the Australian economy and her response to the 2008–2010 global financial crisis.