350 research outputs found
Economic vitality in a transition to sustainability
No full textThe good news is that many of the solutions to this extraordinary problem are within reach. Many of the solutions to global warming are not only feasible, they are economically and socially beneficial. While some claim that addressing global warming will have a negative impact on the economy, the most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ("IPCC") asserts that there is substantial economic potential for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decade. In fact, there is a growing global market to address global warming, and the United States must act now or risk being left behind.Climate change, mitigation, resilience
05-05 "Teaching Ecological and Feminist Economics in the Principles Course"
No full textIt can be difficult to incorporate ecological and feminist concerns into introductory courses based on neoclassical analysis. We have faced these issues head-on as we have worked on writing introductory economics textbooks, Microeconomics in Context (Goodwin, Nelson, Ackerman and Weisskopf, 2005) and Macroeconomics in Context (in progress). In this essay, we will describe how we have modified the introductory curriculum to encompass these perspectives.
A New Economics for the 21st Century
No full textThe critical role for economic theory is no longer simply to explain how the existing system works, but also to explore how the economic system can be changed to become more adaptive and resilient in the face of the challenges of the 21st century, and how it can be more directly designed to support human well-being, in the present and the future. Simultaneous changes are needed, in both the actual economy (how it functions, by what rules, how it can be made responsive to constraints) and also in economic theory.Contextual economics; economic theory; economic goals; bias in economic theory
Equity
No full textThis essay will not attempt to cover all the meanings of equity, but will proceed on the assumption of some common understandings of equality and fairness. It will first summarize briefly how the concept of equity has fared in the evolution of economic theory, from the classical economists of the 18th and 19th centuries, through the neoclassicals of the 20th. It will then focus on ways that ecological economics can once again provide a central place for equity. To do so is not simply a theoretical exercise. Values are involved – values that cannot help but have an impetus toward action. Some possible implications for action will be outlined.history of economic thought, equity, equality, ecological economics, human values
01-01 "Civil Economy and Civilized Economics: Essentials for Sustainable Development."
No full textThis essay will consider the relevance of the social sciences - especially economics - to the foundations of sustainable development. Looming environmental crises have served as a prime motivating force for reevaluating fundamental principles. In particular, the concept of sustainability, carrying with it clear requirements for values, goals and ethics, has begun to reshape economics. The broadest conception of sustainability is found if we understand sustainable development to mean Socially And Environmentally Just And Sustainable development - "SAEJAS development". Throughout the paper we will see examples of rules, or norms, that serve to organize human behavior without requiring that everything be rethought all the time. Among these may be found some ethical rules that lay the foundation for responding to the current situation in which humanity finds itself. What notice should the social sciences take of such rules? How would the social sciences - especially economics - have to change in order to be able to pay appropriate attention to ethical norms? "Participatory science," involving citizens as well as specialists, is proposed as an outline for the kind of science that is needed under contemporary circumstances. The approach described under this rubric will be contrasted with the methods and assumptions of mainstream economics. The essay will give some attention to how economic ideas - for better or for worse - affect and shape culture and society. The theory of sustainable development is proposed as offering strong, practical elements of a needed alternative economic paradigm. The conclusion will remind us that theory alone has little effect, and will point to an area where theory and practice can work together to civilize modern economies.
08-01 "An Overview of Climate Change: What does it mean for our way of life? What is the best future we can hope for?"
No full textThis paper starts with the question of whether climate change will require a significant reduction of consumption among the richer people in the world, and ends with the most optimistic picture the author can conjure up, of the world in the year 2075. That hopeful picture is of a world in which inequalities – among and within nations – have been substantially reduced. The challenges and adjustments confronting humanity in the coming decades provide an opportunity that could be used to mitigate climate change in ways that can improve the circumstances of the poor. Ecological reasons to reduce throughput of energy and materials in economic systems urge the abandonment of high-consumption life-styles. The 21st century will be an era of many losses, but it is conceivable that societies will successfully make the transition from goals of economic growth, as understood in the 20th century, to goals of maintaining and increasing sustainable well-being.
03-02 "Macroeconomics for the Twenty-First Century"
No full textMacroeconomic theory has not yet come to grips with major issues of the twenty- first century. These include environmental pressures, demographic changes, the size, structure, and power of multinational corporations, and growing economic inequality. Existing macroeconomic theory also does not deal adequately with normative issues, focuses excessively on market solutions, assumes that a single macroeconomic theory can apply to all situations, and ignores issues concerning the scale of economic activity and the speed of change.
"Civil Economy and Civilized Economics: Essentials for Sustainable Development"
No full textThis essay will consider the relevance of the social sciences - especially economics - to the foundations of sustainable development. Looming environmental crises have served as a prime motivating force for reevaluating fundamental principles. In particular, the concept of sustainability, carrying with it clear requirements for values, goals and ethics, has begun to reshape economics. The broadest conception of sustainability is found if we understand sustainable development to mean Socially And Environmentally Just And Sustainable development - "SAEJAS development". Throughout the paper we will see examples of rules, or norms, that serve to organize human behavior without requiring that everything be rethought all the time. Among these may be found some ethical rules that lay the foundation for responding to the current situation in which humanity finds itself. What notice should the social sciences take of such rules? How would the social sciences - especially economics - have to change in order to be able to pay appropriate attention to ethical norms? "Participatory science," involving citizens as well as specialists, is proposed as an outline for the kind of science that is needed under contemporary circumstances. The approach described under this rubric will be contrasted with the methods and assumptions of mainstream economics. The essay will give some attention to how economic ideas - for better or for worse - affect and shape culture and society. The theory of sustainable development is proposed as offering strong, practical elements of a needed alternative economic paradigm. The conclusion will remind us that theory alone has little effect, and will point to an area where theory and practice can work together to civilize modern economies.civil society, sustainable development, development, SAEJAS, ethics, social capital, environment, new economics,
03-03 "Reconciling Growth and Environment"
No full textMacroeconomic theory and policy are strongly based on the assumption that economic growth is a fundamental goal. The environmental realities of the twenty- first century compel a reassessment of macro theory in terms of the impact of current growth patterns on planetary ecosystems.This paper examines the macroeconomic impacts of growth in terms of several major areas of conflict between economic demands and ecosystem capacities:
The Stumbling-blocks of Economics: Complexity, Time and Change
No full textThis is Chapter 6 from Social Economics: An Alternative Theory (St. Martin's Press, 1991) There were issues of complexity, time and change which Alfred Marshall recognized as essential aspects of his subject but which were not readily dealt with by the 'scientific' techniques which he was helping to develop. As he feared, the forces which he helped to put in motion have in fact resulted in a situation wherein these bothersome but crucial issues have been pushed aside by techniques which are powerful in other achievements, but not sufficient for the degree of complexity that interested Marshall. This chapter outlines what Marshall saw as the deepest problems in the development of an economic science - problems which, the author claims, have continued to enjoy the same status: as unsolved, if not insoluble
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