Ecological Economics

... The focus lies on the analysis of the material balance of furniture, as an example, in private households. ... durables (long-lived goods), such as furniture, electrical appliances, which have a residence time longer than a year, and. ...

This project is about the potential for sustainable, equitable socio‐ecological transformation of the SF Bay Area, and where to start to get there. Nine case studies from the recent Resilient by Design, Bay Area Challenge (RbD) offer tangible examples of the positive transformation that is possible and the community‐based processes, and economic and governance tools that are needed to achieve it. The project explores three key questions: First, what was learned from the RbD Challenge that will help communicate the challenges of resilience and equity, and build support for needed changes to design, planning and public policy? Second, how can the diverse ideas developed by the RbD Challenge be synthesized into a framework to help guide future Bay Area projects? And third, what are the key leverage points for positive change? 

It is increasingly apparent that the Bay Area economy has become an engine of inequality. As discussed below, the economic recovery has produced rising incomes for those at the high end of the income spectrum and record level investment, and yet, the real poverty rate in California is now the highest in the country and homelessness is surging (BACEI 2015, 2018; Turner 2017; Samsara 2016; Policy Link 2015). The compounding challenge of climate change – a symptom of a larger sustainability crisis – has been described as “two sides of the same political‐economic coin” as “the issues of sustainable development and social/environmental justice have surfaced together as in no other period in world history” (Faber and McCarthy 2003, p.40).  The task of addressing both challenges simultaneously is daunting on the surface, yet the SF Bay Area provides an ideal laboratory to investigate creative new models. The Bay Area was selected as the site for the RbD design challenge largely because the combination of commitment to social values and strong institutions, factors that have supported innovative policy in the past, as well as the first ever tax measure to create a regional resilience fund, measure AA (RbD 2017, p.2).

The discussion that follows describes the larger role that the RbD challenge is supporting to produce social‐ecological transformation in the Bay Area, an accomplishment that can serve as a model for other metro areas like the San Francisco Bay Area that are powerful hubs of the US economy. The RbD case studies add an important dimension to current policy and planning discussions, as they ground abstract ideas in real places and communities – illustrating potential physical form and a rich community process – as well as significant co‐benefits.  Each of the casestudies demonstrate the potential co‐benefits of place‐based investments to build social resilience, while simultaneously addressing urgent climate mitigation and adaptation goals. A Transformation Dashboard has been created to describe the strategies in each of the projects and compare them. Finally, I conclude that physical design and planning ideas are not sufficient on their own to address the urgent challenges of resilience, equity and sustainability. The need for additional policy levers to support meaningful transformation has inspired six key recommendations:

1. Create Priority Resilience Areas for targeted investment
2. Identify select CoC tracts as early action “TCC+” demonstration projects using measure AA resilience funds, TCC funds and a fair share of new regional housing funds
3. Pilot new models for community stabilization and wealth building
4. Develop regional resilience vision to protect and restore watershed assets 
5. Create multi‐jurisdiction resilience fund as a regional wealth Fund 
6. Promote community partnership process

This paper aims at integrating macroeconomic and institutional analyses of long run dynamics of capitalism with material flow analysis. We investigate the links between accumulation and socio-metabolic regimes by studying French capitalism from a material perspective since 1948. We characterize its social metabolism both in production- and consumption-based approaches. We show that the periodization of accumulation regimes in terms of Fordism and Neoliberalism translates into material terms. The offshore materiality of Neoliberalism partly substitutes for and partly complements the more domestic materiality inherited from Fordism. The transition phase between the two socio-metabolic regimes clearly corresponds to the emergence of the offshoring-financialization nexus of French capitalism indicating the shift from the fordist accumulation regime to the neoliberal accumulation regime. Acknowledging that socio-metabolic regimes have their own logic, we highlight strong inter-linkages between accumulation and material dynamics and discuss how materials may be instrumental in shaping accumulation regimes. This work therefore illustrates the relevance of combining institutional macroeconomics with methods and approaches derived from Ecological Economics.

SEND A MAIL TO VINCENT.BLOK@WUR.NL IF YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THE PDF In this paper we investigate the fundamental idea at stake in current bioeconomies, such as Europe's Bio-Based Economy (BBE). We argue that basing an economy upon ecology is an ambivalent effort, causing confusion and inconsistencies. The dominant framing of the damaged biosphere as a market-failure in bioeconomies such as the BBE is problematic. We present alternative conceptualisations of bioeconomies and indicate which concepts are overlooked. The philosophical perspective of Emmanuel Levinas is employed to develop a more profound understanding of the tensions at stake. We argue that humans necessarily seek to overcome their natural origin, yet can never fully control the biosphere upon which they are dependent. Levinas work is compared with that of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen and found to be complimentary. We highlight the specific contradictions and discrepancies in the relation between economy and ecology, and work towards a genuine and consistent conceptualization of the BBE. Our hypothesis is that a principal heterogeneity between humankind and nature should be explicitly acknowledged-instead of the impossible, absolute amalgamation of economy and ecology strived for today-if a bioeconomy which truly operates within the carrying capacity of planet Earth is to be accomplished.

Depois de dois anos de conversas, as sociedades regionais indicadas, autores institucionais, chegaram a este consenso sobre o papel da economia ecológica na política pública da América Latina, abrangendo os dez temas seguintes: Indicadores de bem-estar apropriados à sustentabilidade socioambiental; Desvinculação do crescimento econômico do uso intensivo de energia e de materiais, assim como da degradação ambiental (decoupling em inglês); Inovação tecnológica com redução de impactos ambientais, geração de emprego e benefícios sociais; Universalização da agropecuária de baixo carbono, em todas as escalas; Avaliação e distribuição equitativa dos benefícios dos serviços ecossistêmicos; Gestão sustentável dos recursos naturais cada vez mais escassos; Cidades sustentáveis, justas e criativas; Empoderamento dos povos indígenas e comunidades locais para exercer e o questionamento da necessidade dos grandes projetos; Ética ecocêntrica e conscientização; justiça ambiental com uma melhor distribuição do poder e a organização da governança do sistema global.

The work moves from the expression "environmental responsibility" to focus on the duties of individuals and institutions in relation to a complex and interdisciplinary issue, which concerns the relationship between man and nature, the "rights of future generations", the right to health, the right to freedom of enterprise and economic-social development in relation to the protection of the environment, that can be summarized in the concept of sustainable development. After having recalled the European legal framework and having highlighted the environmental and economic importance of some norms, the Author focus critically on the paradigm to which the environmental question usually refers: that of the dilemma between business and environment, between economic freedoms and ecology. This approach is a reflection of the contrast between the two main, extreme visions concerning the relationship between man and nature: technocratic anthropocentrism on one side and ecologism on the other. The search for a balance and a link between environmental protection and economics, in the awareness that the interests of each area, in the long run, are converging, is therefore considered as the real challenge, consistent with the constitutional principles and with the background message of the famous encyclica Laudato si'. Finally environmental responsibility represents a challenge not only from a constitutional and economic point of view, but also from a philosophical-anthropological one, where the issue of the existence of finality in every living beings, including the human being, is recognized, so as to configure a 'human ecology '. The question about the existence of an objective reason manifesting in nature thus leads to the question about the existence of a Creative Reason, as recalled by Joseph Ratzinger in his speech to the German Parliament in September 2011, not without any critical reference to the different perspective of Hans Kelsen, closed towards this research.

Il lavoro muove dall’espressione “responsabilità ambientale” per focalizzare l’attenzione sul versante dei doveri dei singoli e delle istituzioni in relazione ad una tematica complessa e interdisciplinare, che concerne il rapporto fra uomo e natura, i c.d. diritti delle generazioni future, il diritto alla salute, quello alla libertà di impresa e allo sviluppo economico-sociale in relazione alla protezione dell’ambiente sintetizzabile nel concetto di sviluppo sostenibile. Dopo aver richiamato il quadro giuridico europeo e aver posto in luce la rilevanza sia ambientale, sia economica di alcune norme, ci si sofferma criticamente sul paradigma al quale solitamente si riconduce la questione ambientale: quello del dilemma fra l’impresa e l’ambiente, fra la libertà di iniziativa economica e l’ecologia. Un’impostazione che è riflesso della contrapposizione fra le due principali visioni, estreme, concernenti il rapporto fra l’uomo e la natura: quella dell’antropocentrismo tecnocratico e dell’ecologismo. La ricerca di un equilibrio e di un legame fra ambiente ed economia, nella consapevolezza che gli interessi di ciascun ambito, alla lunga, siano tra loro convergenti, viene dunque additata come la vera sfida, in coerenza con i principi costituzionali e in consonanza con il messaggio di fondo dell’enciclica Laudato si’. Si evidenzia, infine, come la responsabilità ambientale rappresenti una sfida non solo sotto il profilo costituzionale ed economico, ma anche sotto il profilo filosofico-antropologico, ove si approfondisca e si riconosca il tema dell’esistenza di finalità in tutti gli esseri, compreso l’uomo, così da configurare anche un’«ecologia umana». La domanda circa l’esistenza di una ragione oggettiva che si manifesta nella natura conduce così alla domanda circa l’esistenza di una Ragione creativa, come ricordato da Joseph Ratzinger nel discorso al Parlamento tedesco del settembre 2011, non senza riferimenti critici alla differente prospettiva di Hans Kelsen, chiusa alla possibilità di tale prospettiva.

In this book, we outline a model of a non-capitalist market economy based on not-for-profit forms of business. This work presents both a critique of the current economic system and a vision of a more socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable economy. The point of departure is the purpose and profit-orientation embedded in the legal forms used by businesses (e.g., for-profit or not-for-profit) and the ramifications of this for global sustainability challenges such as environmental pollution, resource use, climate change, and economic inequality. We document the rapid rise of not-for-profit forms of business in the global economy and offer a conceptual framework and an analytical lens through which to view these relatively new economic actors and their potential for transforming the economy. The book explores how a market consisting of only or mostly not-for-profit forms of business might lead to better financial circulation, economic equality, social well-being, and environmental regeneration as compared to for-profit markets.

This conceptual article contributes to the post-growth strand of political ecology literature, which seeks to find sustainable ways of organizing the economy that do not require economic growth. It explores the idea that transitioning to post-growth societies requires a transition in the relationship-to-profit of business. I first conceptualize relationship-to-profit as the intersection of purpose, investment, and ownership of firms. Specifically, for-profit business structures entail a financial gain purpose, private ownership, and unlimited returns on investment; whereas not-for-profit business structures have a social benefit purpose, collective ownership, and limited returns on investment. I then outline ideal types of for-profit and not-for-profit economies, based on the differences between these two kinds of relationship-to-profit. The first ideal type shows how the for-profit business structure drives consumerism, economic growth, and ecological harm, as well as inequality and political capture, preventing post-growth transitions. These dynamics might be slowed down by businesses that seek to balance private financial gain with social benefit (known as dual-purpose businesses). The second ideal type describes the dynamics that might be expected in an economy consisting of not-for-profit businesses, which have a legal mandate to pursue only social benefit. This analysis explains how transitioning from for-profit to not-for-profit forms of business might change some of the most problematic dynamics of the economy, allowing for post-growth transformations. A brief discussion of the possible shortcomings of a not-for-profit economy is also offered. Résumé Cet article conceptuel contribue au volet post-croissance de la littérature en écologie politique, qui cherche à trouver des moyens durables d'organiser l'économie qui ne nécessitent pas de croissance économique. Il explore l'idée que la transition vers des sociétés post-croissance nécessite une transition dans la relation au profit des entreprises. J'ai d'abord conceptualisé la relation au profit comme l'intersection du «sens du but», de l'investissement et de la propriété des entreprises. Plus précisément, les structures commerciales à but lucratif impliquent un objectif de gain financier, la propriété privée et un retour sur investissement illimité; tandis que les structures commerciales à but non lucratif ont un objectif d'avantages sociaux, de propriété collective et de retours sur investissement limités. J'expose ensuite les types idéaux d'économies à but lucratif et sans but lucratif, en fonction des différences entre ces deux types de relation au profit. Le premier type idéal montre comment la structure commerciale à but lucratif stimule le consumérisme, la croissance économique et les dommages à l'environnement. En outre, il crée des inégalités et la capture par les intérêts politiques, empêchant les transitions post-croissance. Cette dynamique pourrait être ralentie par les entreprises qui cherchent à équilibrer les gains financiers privés et les avantages sociaux (appelés «entreprises à double usage»). Le deuxième type idéal décrit la dynamique qui peut être attendue dans une économie composée d'entreprises à but non lucratif, qui ont un mandat légal de rechercher uniquement des avantages sociaux. Cette analyse

This Handbook provides an overview of major current debates, trends and perspectives in ecological economics. It covers a wide range of issues, such as the foundations of ecological economics, deliberative methods, the de-growth movement, ecological macroeconomics, social metabolism, environmental governance, consumer studies, knowledge systems and new experimental approaches. Written by leading authors in their respective areas of specialisation, the contributions systematize the ‘state of the art’ in the selected topics, and draw insights about new knowledge frontiers.

Edited by Joan Martínez-Alier, Professor of Economics and Economic History, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain and Roldan Muradian, Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program of Economics, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil

This comprehensive Handbook neatly encapsulates the field of ecological economics, the fluid interface between the economic and ecological systems. Leading scholars systematize the state-of-the-art and put forward their insights about future development in their respective areas of expertise. The result is a compendium of stimulating and outstanding contributions, interesting for both junior and more experienced readers alike.

Subjects covered include the analytical and philosophical foundations of ecological economics, deliberative valuation methods, social metabolism, ecological macroeconomics, the de-growth movement, socio-environmental conflicts, the scope and valuation of ecosystem services, traditional ecological knowledge, social dilemmas in common pool resource management; consumption patterns, global environmental governance and emerging tools for dealing with environmental problems, such as payments for ecosystem services.

Covering the most salient topics in the field of ecological economics and with a wide scope, from philosophical foundations to practical applications, this book will be invaluable to students, scholars, researchers and policy makers.

‘This volume is a much-needed addition to the literature on ecological economics. The essays in this volume represent a return to the basic ontological foundations which distinguished the field from standard economics at its inception over three decades ago—the insistence that the economy is grounded in biophysical reality and that human needs cannot be reduced to economic calculation. As the authors argue, the inspiration for a revitalization of ecological economics lies not in welfare economics but in new developments in the biophysical and behavioral sciences.’
– John Gowdy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, US

'What is distinct about ecological economics? This excellent volume, with essays by some of the leading thinkers in the field, provides answers. Tracing its history, its ontological foundations, and its future directions, this Handbook not only delineates the essential features of an expanding area of knowledge, it also demonstrates the critical importance of interdisciplinary and institutional approaches to finding solutions.'
– Bina Agarwal, University of Manchester, UK

Contributors: D.N. Barton, L. Braat, J.C. Cárdenas, M. de Carvalho Amazonas, E. Coudel, R. de Groot, L. Eloy, J. Ferreira, M. Fischer-Kowalski, E. Gómez-Baggethun, A. Guarín, H. Haberl, M. Hercowitz, G. Kallis, B. Martín-López, J. Martínez-Alier, L. Mattos, P. May, B. Muraca, R. Muradian, A. Nadal, J. O'Neill, P. Petridis, M.-G. Piketty, V. Reyes-García, I. Ring, B. Rodríguez-Labajos, I. Røpke, I. Scholz, C.L. Spash, F. Toni, T. Uebel, A. Vatn, P.A. Victor, C. Zografos

Contents:

1. Taking Stock: The Keystones of Ecological Economics
Joan Martínez-Alier and Roldan Muradian

2. The Content, Direction and Philosophy of Ecological Economics
Clive L. Spash

3. Analytical Philosophy and Ecological Economics
John O’Neill and Thomas Uebel

4. Value Deliberation in Ecological Economics
Christos Zografos

5. Social Metabolism: A Metrics for Biophysical Growth and Degrowth
Marina Fischer-Kowalski and Helmut Haberl

6. Macroeconomic Policies and Environmental Sustainability
Alejandro Nadal

7. Modeling a Non-Growing Economy: An Autobiographical Note
Peter A. Victor

8. Degrowth: Between a Scientific Concept and a Slogan for a Social Movement
Panos Petridis, Barbara Muraca and Giorgos Kallis

9. Water: Ecological Economics and Socio-environmental Conflicts
Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos and Joan Martínez-Alier

10. The Contributions of the Ecosystem Services Paradigm to Sustainability Science, Policy and Practice
Rudolf de Groot and Leon Braat

11. Ecological Economics Perspectives on Ecosystem Services Valuation
Erik Gómez-Baggethun and Berta Martin-López

12. The Values of Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Victoria Reyes-Garcia

13. From Conventional Economics to Complexity in Social Dilemmas: Lessons from CPR Experiments in the Lab and the Field
Juan Camilo Cárdenas

14. Sustainable Consumption – Transitions, Systems and Practices
Inge Røpke

15. Consumers, The Environment, and the New Global Middle Classes
Alejandro Guarín and Imme Scholz

16. Global Environmental Governance
Arild Vatn

17. Economic Instruments in Policy Mixes for Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Governance
Irene Ring and David N. Barton

18. The Rise of PES in Brazil: From Pilot Projects to Public Policies
Emilie Coudel, Joice Ferreira, Maurício de Carvalho Amazonas, Ludivine Eloy, Marcelo Hercowitz, Luciano Mattos, Peter May, Roldhan Muradian, Marie-Gabrielle Piketty and Fabiano Toni

19. Looking Forward: Current Concerns and the Future of Ecological Economics
Joan Martínez-Alier and Roldan Muradian

Index

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O consenso keynesiano: No geral, a política macroeconômica do “norte” foi keynesiana desde a segunda guerra mundial até 1973, vendo o estado como solução para o desenvolvimento – com regulação, investimento e planejamento nacional, com ênfase em democracia social e prevendo intervenções numa economia em recessão.  Três pilares do consenso keynesiano—investimentos públicos, programas sociais e sindicatos fortes. Na América Latina, keynesianismo se torna estruturalismo e desenvolvimentismo com conceitos e políticas diferenciados.
O neoliberalismo: A partir de 1973, com a crise de petróleo, o estado começou a ser visto como um problema. Veio o neoliberalismo a favor de reduzir a função de regulação, aumentar incentivos de mercado e abrir mais espaço para o setor privado, limitando o papel intervencionista do estado e as políticas de distribuição de renda.
Tudo isso é uma grande generalização.
Propostas intermediárias: Responsabilidade social corporativa e os resultados de três objetivos (pessoas, planeta, lucro). Há um meio termo entre Keynes e os neoliberais? Pode ser, mas o Projeto Policymix não o considerou. O decrescimento é defendido por muitos cientistas, pois o mundo não suporta mais o crescimento econômico, especialmente no “norte.” Há políticas que reduzem emissões ao melhorar as condições de vida. Economistas ecológicos oferecem uma macroeconomia keynesiana sem crescimento econômico.
As políticas ambientais: Os ajustes estruturais neoliberais latino-americanos reduziram o papel do estado quanto às políticas ambientais, excluindo a regulação e investimentos sócio-ambientais, de forma direta e indireta. O conceito de desenvolvimento sustentável, com Estado atuante, foi substituído pela economia verde, um conceito mais neoliberal.

Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (Australian National University) Seminar Series, Canberra, March 11, 2020.

NOTE: As of now, only the pdf of the presentation is available. In the future, the audio recording of my talk should become available as well, at the same link. Apologies for this delay: The file is saved on a device that is in a bulding currently closed due to the covid-19.

ABSTRACT:
Environmental problems like the current climate crisis are making it more clear than ever that our relationship with the Earth needs to change. This implies, among the other things, questioning how we make decisions that affect the environment, recognizing that the methods we are using—and still teaching!—are problematic, and considering alternatives.

These alternatives do not need to be invented from scratch. Indeed, we are already surrounded by them. Once we realize that society is pursuing economic ideas that are, in most cases, a Western product that has been spread through colonization, it is logical to come to the conclusion that non-Western perspectives represent alternatives worth considering. These alternative ways of interacting with the Earth have a quality that newly developed ideas cannot have: They have, in many cases, been developed and used over centuries, even millennia, hence, they have already been repeatedly “tested”.

The research that will be presented in this seminar is a Ph.D. thesis still in progress, based at McGill University (Canada), and developed within the Ecological Economics project Economics for the Anthropocene. This research is focused on questioning Economics and quantitative decision making in the light of Indigenous perspectives—mostly, Indigenous perspectives from Canada. The reason why this research is focused on Indigenous perspectives only, rather than on all non-Western perspectives, is that Indigenous cultures have been the most oppressed ones, and have already partially disappeared because of this, and thus they are the ones that most urgently need attention and recognition, also in the light of Reconciliation.

In practical terms, this research consists in a review of Indigenous perspectives, mostly coming from Indigenous-made sources (newspapers, documentaries, speeches), and in a study of how these perspectives challenge mainstream economic ideas and suggest alternative methods to use and principles to pursue.