An index of sustainable economic welfare for Poland

Abstract The index of sustainable economic welfare (ISEW) developed by HE Daly and JB Cobb Jr is an attempt to create a measure of sustainable development. In this paper, we have computed the ISEW for Poland for the years 1980–97. It turns out that after some fluctuations in 1980–85, a decline of the index in 1986–90 is observed. The ISEW reached its lowest values in 1989–90. Up to 1995, we can observe a growth dynamic at the beginning and falling in succeeding years, which eventually shows a tendency back downward that started in 1996. It seems that the recent decrease in ISEW can be attributed to categories such as long‐term environmental damage, ozone layer depletion, losses caused by commuting and road accidents. Moreover, growing welfare inequalities penalize the value of ISEW in recent years much more significantly than before. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment