Green GDP and Sustainable Development in Malaysia

Abstract

Sustainability has become an important concept in economic growth and development in the world. Malaysia, as a rapidly developing economy in Asia, has been able to achieve a positive economic growth; however, there is a big question: is it on a sustainable growth path? Due to weaknesses of traditional GDP in reflecting sustainability path, Green GDP as an indicator of sustainability could be implemented with adjustments in calculations. This paper aims to calculate the Green GDP for Malaysia. This measure will almost give policy makers a more arguable estimate for the area of environmental challenges. This paper highlights the role of natural resources depletion and environmental damages in sustainable development of the country. Green GDP is associated with some uncertainties such as lack of comprehensive calculations in estimating data and difficulties in setting the price of natural resources. These uncertainties and how Malaysia would be able to implement more accurate Green GDP in future were also discussed.