Frontier Issues In Ecological Economics

'Frontier Issues in Ecological Economics' focuses on a range of issues in the field of ecological economics and outlines measures to achieve a more sustainable, just, and efficient world for all.

The emergent discipline of ecological economics is based on the idea that the world's economies are a function of the earth's ecosystems -- an idea that radically reverses the world view of neoclassical economics. A Survey of Ecological Economics provides the first overview of this new field, and a comprehensive and systematic survey of its critical literature.The editors of the volume summarize ninety-five seminal articles, selected through an exhaustive survey, that advance the field of ecological economics and represent the best thinking to date in the area. Each two- to three-page summary is far more comprehensive than a typical abstract, and presents both the topics covered in each paper and the most important arguments made about each topic. Sections cover: historical perspective definition, scope, and interdisciplinary issues theoretical frameworks and techniques energy and resource flow analysis accounting and evaluation North-South/international issues ethical/social/institutional issues Each section is preceded by an introductory essay that outlines the current state of knowledge in the field and proposes a research agenda for the future. A Survey of Ecological Economics is the first volume in the Frontier Issues in Economic Thought series produced by the Global Development And Environment Institute at Tufts University.

Economic Theory for Environmentalists is a much-needed and heralded new book that examines the implications of neoclassical economic theory and how it relates to the environment and environmental activity. It addresses the ongoing conflict between market forces and environmental integrity and explains how neoclassical economic theory views the relationship between economic activity and the natural world. Each chapter outlines the concepts of economic theory and the relevance of its environmental and policy implications. It focuses on both micro and macro-economics. Policy tools such as price and income elasticities, consumer surplus and methods for measuring the economic value of environmental resources are discussed. A case study which examines a range of policy options is presented. Examples are also given throughout the text to illustrate regional and international policy questions. Presented in a simple and easy to understand manner, this valuable book is suited for anyone dealing with environmental, economic, or policy issues.

This book is mainly about the examination of shifting in the field of ecological economics resulting from its evolution over the past three decades. It discusses the theory and methodology of ecological economics and development of ecological economics and related policies. It also analyzes the empirical study of ecological economics and the value of and compensation for ecological system services. Successfully combining theory and concrete practical guidelines, the book offers a valuable resource for all those active in this dynamic field.

This book argues that mainstream economics, with its present methodological approach, is limited in its ability to analyze and develop adequate public policy to deal with environmental problems and sustainable development. Each chapter provides major insights into many of today s environmental problems such as global warming and sustainable growth. Building on the strengths and insights of Post Keynesian and ecological economics and incorporating cutting-edge work in economic complexity, bounded rationality and socio-economic dynamics, this book provides an interdisciplinary approach to deal with a broad range of environmental concerns. The contributors show how and where the two traditions share common ground concerning environmental problems and shed light on how the two schools can learn from one another. The book will be of great value to Post Keynesian and ecological economists as well as to those interested in new approaches to important global environmental issues.

Ecological economics seeks to socially construct a political economics which will deal successfully with environmental problems and make the individual more visible in economic analysis. The author describes the principles, strategies and instruments of social change for key players - governmental agencies, business corporations, environmental and religious organizations and universities - and underlines their responsibilities in the market economy. Peter Soderbaum emphasizes the need to articulate ideologies, worldviews, ethics and related scientific perspectives as part of economics, and the importance of pluralism and democratic decision making. His account of the theories and means that will brings us closer to a sustainable society consider tools such as environmental impact assessment (EIA) and describes success indicators such as environmental labelling and environmental management systems (EMS). It highlights strategies and policies that facilitate social change and sets out future agendas for the individual actors in political economics.

This is a book of uncompromising technical excellence, which does exactly what it promises to do: chart the cutting-edge frontiers of environmental and ecological economics, for the benefit of graduate students, professional academics, and policy making elites. The authors are mostly academic leaders in the field, the topics are hot . . . the contributors make the links between abstract theorizing and the concrete mental framing of issues that is a prerequisite for sound policy design . . . The papers in this collection exhibit rigorous and robust analytical frameworks, presented intuitively in clear words as well as mathematically, and harnessed to wide-ranging up-to-date bibliographies which quickly open the door into recent literature . . . this will be a book to keep on a convenient shelf for reference purposes . . . it is hard to imagine a graduate student reading this book and failing to spot opportunities to colonize new theoretical territory beyond the present frontier, or to explore empirically the areas outlined in these chapters. Geoffrey Bertram, Papers in Regional Science Top European and American scholars contribute to this cutting-edge volume on little-researched areas of environmental and resource economics. Topics include spatial economics, poverty and development, experimental economics, large-scale risk and its management, organizational economics, technological innovation and diffusion and many more. The common thread is the language and methodology of economics, yet the work aims to reach an audience wider than academia; others such as researchers and policymakers, in the public sector, professional staff in research institutes and think tanks, and environmental consultants will all benefit from an awareness of these crucial issues which, if not considered now, will become the problems of the future.