WHEN DOES SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH BECOME NORMATIVE? A THREE-LEVEL FRAMEWORK FOR POSITIVE ANALYSIS, VALUES, AND SMART ECONOMIC GROWTH

Abstract

Sustainability research is widely recognized as normatively oriented, yet this characterization is often extended too quickly from the field as a whole to every individual study conducted within it. This conceptual article asks whether a strictly positive study—descriptive, explanatory, causal, or predictive—can constitute a complete contribution to sustainability research without formulating prescriptions about what ought to be done. The article uses a conceptual-analytical review of representative traditions in economics, philosophy of science, sustainability science, and sustainability economics. It develops a three-level framework that distinguishes (i) value relevance in problem selection, (ii) the logical and methodological status of scientific propositions, and (iii) normative inference in the setting of goals and policy recommendations. The framework is examined through common-pool resources, collective action, natural capital, the Hartwick rule, integrated climate-economy models, and environmental policy evaluation. The central conclusion is a pluralist epistemological account: sustainability research legitimately contains positive, normative, and integrated positive–normative inquiries. For smart economic growth, the framework clarifies why multidimensional evidence can be empirically rigorous while rankings of 'smarter' growth paths still require explicit evaluative premises. The contribution is to locate where values enter the inquiry rather than assuming either complete value-freedom or universal normativity.