Growth is Harmful
with forewords by Herman Daly, Bill McKibben,Mary Robinson and Pavan Sukhdev
http://www.earthscan.co.uk/ProsperityWithoutGrowth/tabid/102098/Default.aspx
Some key arguments worth learning and making are as follows. Luxurious lifestyles are impossible to give to all. What is being sold is an illusion. The costs of growth, deforestation, pollution, depletion of resources, destruction of species, global warming, etc. are so large that if taken into account, we would get negative growth figures. Proper accounting for the effects of growth is desperately needed. HDI measures barely scratch the surface of what needs to be done. Social Accounting is also just a start on the matter. Islam teaches us not to pursue wealth; some Islamic source materials relating to this are given here.
Cato, Molly Scott: Green Economics: An Introduction to Theory, Policy and Practice
Jackson, Tim: Prosperity without Growth - Economics for Finite Planet
Douthwaite, Richard: The Growth Illusion: How Economic Growth Has Enriched the Few, Impoverished the Many and Endangered the Planet
The Centre for Development Policy and Research draws on the broad range of development expertise at the School of Oriental and African Studies to engage in innovative policy-oriented research and training on crucial development issues.
International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth: http://www.ipc-undp.org (one-pagers diverse research).
Among Muslim economists, pursuit of growth is justified on the grounds that it would help to eliminate poverty. Therefore it is important to pursue the link between growth and poverty reduction. This involves studying the "trickle-down effect" that a rising tide will lift all ships. Many many studies show this is not true. 20 million hungry in the USA in 2008 also certify to this. Another line of research is to look at Happiness and Satisfaction, and how it relates to income. Again the results do not favor pursuit of wealth. A third line seeks to redefine development, since using only money as a yardstick is misleading in many ways. For instance Sen: Development As Freedom.