This paper sketches some elements of economy theory which recommend the current deregulation of trade, banking and international exchange. It then suggests what kind of regime might allow a more efficient global economy to serve more humane purposes than it is yet serving, within and between developed and developing economies, if the formidable opposition to such a reform could be overcome. The objective is to assess the long-term sustainability of economic performance. Integrated environmental and economic accounts expand therefore the asset boundary of the conventional national accounts. The integrative power of such accounting is based on pricing 'priceless' environmental phenomena.
Monetary valuation is thus controversial, and alternative physical accounting is also discussed.
While the discussion on the issue of unpaid work which took place at the World Summit for Social Development and at the World Conference on Women focussed mainly on the controversy of including unpaid work in national accounts and other statistics, this paper considers the issue of unpaid work from a policy perspective. Finally, the paper provides a systematic inventory of policies with respect to unpaid work, including employment and labour market policies. Recycling has also been increasing, reducing the growth rate of primary production of aluminium and copper, and reducing primary production of lead. Despite depletion of the richest ores and a shift to less concentrated ores, advances in mining technologies have lead to generally declining, though fluctuating, metal prices. Supplies of these metals are sustainable for the foreseeable future.