Suchergebnisse

Purpose
This paper aims to find out what attitudes Economics and Business students have towards sustainability and what they expect from their education in relation to the achievement of economic, social and environmental sustainability. The objective is to find out if the studies of Economics and Business favour the development of pro-sustainability attitudes, taking into account factors such as the gender of the students, the course in which they are enrolled and the economic training received before entering university.


Design/methodology/approach
A survey was designed covering ecological, social, cultural, economic and political aspects. The survey was conducted among students of the Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Management and the Bachelor's Degree in Economics. The authors used discriminant analysis and analysis of variance to test the research hypothesis.


Findings
Students are concerned about environmental problems and are aware of the need for action, but there is little consensus on the actions needed to overcome them. Some negationist traits are detected: those who rely more on technology give less importance to environmental problems and to the possibility of a major ecological catastrophe. Girls are more in favour of sustainability than boys, and students who have previously studied economics consider that their training has enabled them to evaluate the resources available and necessary to perform any job more than those who have not studied economics, regardless of their sex and year.


Originality/value
Many articles have focused on the importance of sustainability in higher education, but hardly any have analysed the role of economic education in achieving sustainability. Given the importance and the proven inter-relationship between economics and sustainability, with this article, the authors contribute to fill the gap in the literature. It is necessary that current students and future professionals receive adequate economic education.

En este trabajo se estudian diversas estructuras interindustriales nacionales aplicando medidas tradicionales input-output y análisis de redes. Su principal objetivo es avanzar en la comprensión de los procesos económicos centrándose en las estructuras interindustriales como un factor explicativo de las disparidades internacionales de desarrollo. El estudio de las relaciones intersectoriales muestra la existencia de una estructura fundamental o común y de diferencias estructurales entre grupos de países, de acuerdo con sus niveles de desarrollo, en la especialización y en la posición de determinadas ramas, teniendo un impacto en sus desiguales procesos de des-arrollo. En este trabajo se muestra que ambas metodologías, input-output y redes, son complementarias y permiten alcanzar explicaciones más ricas de los procesos de desarrollo. La aplicación de la teoría de redes permite una mejor comprensión de las diferencias estructurales, que puede ser relacionada con el crecimiento económico y el desarrollo

Purpose
Higher education institutions (HEIs) offer courses and programmes focusing on sustainability in economics, as courses on sustainable development (SD), which examine the economic, social and environmental dimensions of SD. This paper aims to examine sustainability integration in economics degree programmes.


Design/methodology/approach
Through an extensive literature review in Web of Science (WoS) and information search in Google, conducting to 28 relevant case studies, this paper elucidates the emphasis given to sustainability as part of economics degree programmes in HEIs.


Findings
The results suggest that, whereas the inclusion of sustainability components in this field is a growing trend, much still needs to be done to ensure that matters related to SD are part of the routine of university students studying economics.


Research limitations/implications
It is worth noting that the literature review conducted in WoS was primarily aimed at assisting in the selection of university case studies. The 28 university case studies scrutinised in this study may lack sufficient representation from numerous developing countries.


Practical implications
This study highlights challenges in integrating the SD into economics degree programmes, suggesting the need for curriculum adjustments as underscoring operational issues, acting as barriers. The inclusion of sustainability in economics programmes must navigate operational issues stemming from packed timetables and busy schedules, requiring innovative solutions.


Social implications
As far as the authors are aware, this study holds substantial importance in its emphasis on implementing sustainability within HEIs' economics programmes, assisting in pursuing SD.


Originality/value
The novelty of this study lies in addressing sustainability with the specific economics focus programmes within the HEIs context.