ecological economics Articles
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Whither ecological economics?
This paper examines the nature of ecological economics, arguing that it comprises two aspects, the qualitative framework within which it operates and the quantitative techniques which it uses to measure sustainability, evaluate policies and assist decision-making. The former is distinct to ecological economics, whereas the latter is largely shared with environmental economics. Although these have ...
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Grounding the ecological economics paradigm with ten core principles
To date, attempts at determining what ecological economics is have focused on what is required to ensure a correct balance between ecology and economics; that is, on ensuring ecological economics is not too much of one and not too little of the other. This has led to the emergence of process-oriented definitions of ecological economics. While such definitions are useful, they are informative only ...
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Industrial ecology and ecological economics
The editors of this journal initiated a discussion on the relationship between industrial ecology and ecological economics, to which the current article is intended to contribute. It consists of overviews of ecological economics and industrial ecology, followed by an analysis of the links between them. Judging from their theoretical background and historical development, the extent of cross ...
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Work in a growing and in a steady-state economy
Ecological economics has in recent years taken up consumption issues, but not yet, or not to any great extent, issues of work and employment. Yet ecological, consumption and employment issues hang together. Ecological limits, especially in combination with the aim of eliminating poverty and reducing inequality worldwide, make it necessary for rich countries to reduce production and consumption. ...
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A comment on the independence of allocation, distribution and scale
There has been considerable debate about the independence of the three policy goals of allocative efficiency, distributional equity, and ecological sustainability since Daly's (1992) paper on the subject (Prakash and Gupta, 1994; Daly, 1994; Stewen, 1998; Daly, 1999; Stewen, 1999). I would like to weigh in here, if I may, because I think it is a key policy issue requiring further discussion. ...
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Buddhist economics ancient teachings revisited
The views and values of Buddhist economics play a growing role in the present discourse on 'green' economics. These ancient teachings represent an alternative paradigm and holistic concept of economic action opposed to the reductionist mainstream economics. In this paper, the main content and assumptions of Buddhist economics as laid down in the canonical scriptures are introduced and contrasted ...
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Human consciousness as a base for sustainability in socio–economic–ecological systems
Sustainability of socio–economic–ecological systems always implies a structural uncertainty coming mainly from the diversity of social values involved in the decision making processes required to manage the system. Such uncertainty cannot be reduced in any way, but needs to be managed if sustainability is to be pursued in its 'strong' meaning. This work proposes a methodology to manage structural ...
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Why do we need green economics when we have ecological economics? A proposal for 'pulling people together' at the crossroad of environmental and social sustainability
This paper argues that the epistemological and intellectual space of green economics is or should be located where ecological economics, even in its socio-economic perspective, still fails to provide a coherent conceptual framework such that environmental problems could be analysed in a holistic and inclusive way. Based on explanations of this failure, this paper provides a brief but structured ...
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Beyond limits and efficiency, what? Assessing developments in EU water policy
This paper documents a transformation of EU water policy from a standard-based approach towards a more diverse policy combining ecological, economic and social elements with an emphasis on institutional and participatory aspects. This is marked in a new Water Framework Directive. Analysis is supported by a theoretical discussion of different approaches to sustainability and recognition of the ...
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Technology and the environment in the history of the economic thought
This paper explores the way the man?nature relationship and the related environmental problems have been dealt along with the history of the economic thought. We discuss a number of different theoretical frameworks (classical, Marxian and neoclassical economics, Georgescu-Roegen's approach and ecological economics) and organise the discussion around the following two crucial points: how the ...
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Social sustainability: a catchword between political pragmatism and social theory
The sustainability concepts of the "Brundtland-Report" and the "Rio documents" call for a combination of ecological, economic, social and institutional aspects of social development. This paper describes briefly, several models of sustainability and discusses social sustainability as conceptualised in selected sustainability indicators. In an attempt to remedy the lack of sociological theory, the ...
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Post–normal science and ecological economics: strategies for precautionary approaches and sustainable development
Ecological economics provides a research field for critical reflection on relationships between the economy and the life–sustaining ecosystems. With focus on strong uncertainty, irreversibility, strong sustainability, precautionary approaches and ethical complexity, ecological economics differs from the approach of environmental economics and shares several of the characteristics of ...
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Capital accumulation, technological progress and environment
The paper deals with the problem of the relation between capital accumulation and the carrying capacity of the ecosphere for humankind. The approach is that of ecological economics, which utilises laws and models of ecological sciences to model some aspects of economic systems and their interaction with 'other' ecological systems. Being the analysis of this relation a very hard task, the article ...
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How well are resource prices likely to serve as indicators of natural resource scarcity?
It is generally believed that when a resource becomes increasingly scarce, a shadow is automatically cast in the form of a higher market price. The higher price induces substitution towards more abundant resources and the development of resource-saving technological progress. A growing number of ecological economists argue that, while resource prices adequately reflect the relative scarcity of ...
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Post-Keynesian economics and sustainable development
This paper looks at the relationship between sustainable development and economics. Neoclassical economics with its current methodological approach is not well suited to understand or analyse the problem of sustainable development. Post-Keynesian economics – with its focus on macro and policy outcomes, the role of institutions, uncertainty, historical time, and its criticism of gross substitution ...
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Experiments for transitions: an interactive approach to setting up breakthrough experiments
Society faces problems that are so persistent that radical change is needed. One way to transform the current system is to experiment 'in real life' with technological, ecological, economic and social innovation. In the preparation phase prior to an experiment new partnerships, new viewpoints and new product service solutions are to be developed. The people involved create joint knowledge on the ...
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Editorial: progress in Green Economics: ontology, concepts and philosophy. Civilisation and the lost factor of reality in social and environmental justice
The inaugural publication of the International Journal of Green Economics constructed formal foundations for the establishment of a new school of thought and an attempt to explore and capture current developments and thinking in Green Economics. The current issue introduces the next step in the development of green economics with a philosophical exploration of our focus, along with investigating ...
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Recovering and extending classical and Marshallian foundations for post-Keynesian environmental economics
Post-Keynesians emphasise the critical roles of institutional structures and production in economic life. An assumption of the plasticity of production has led to the neglect of the underlying physical and ecological requirements of production and the dependence of human economies on nature's resources and production. The task of developing an environmental economics cannot be separated from the ...
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Using the Fisherian concept of income to guide a nation's macro-investment policy
A relatively new group of economists called "ecological economists" believe that continuing macro-economic expansion eventually leads to a decline in sustainable economic welfare. Ecological economists have therefore called for a halt to the high-growth policies being widely adopted by many governments. To support their belief, and to demonstrate how Fisherian income can serve as a useful guide ...
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Performance investigations under maximum ecological and maximum economic conditions of a complex Brayton cycle
A complex Brayton cycle is investigated under maximum economic and maximum ecological conditions. The economic function defined as the power output divided by the total cost, while the ecological function defined as the power output divided by the entropy generation rate, is optimised with respect to the cycle temperatures, reheat and intercooling pressure ratios for a typical set of operating ...
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