Quantitative and Systemic Methods for Modeling Sustainability

There are various approaches to modeling sustainability. These can be classified into five main categories: pictorial visualization, quantitative, physical, conceptual, and standardizing. According to Todorov and Marinova, quantitative models are classified into subcategories: macroeconometric, computable general equilibrium, optimization, systems’ dynamic, probabilistic/Bayesian network, and multiagent. Each of the modeling approaches has a number of advantages and disadvantages. This chapter reviews and examines quantitative approaches in modeling sustainability by considering their applications, benefits, and drawbacks. The chapter contains generic discussions on the suitability of each method in the context of sustainability modeling.

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