Ecological Economics: Principles And Applications

Herman E. Daly, Joshua Farley

Island Press, 2004 - Business & Economics - 454 pages

Conventional economics is often criticized for failing to reflect adequately the value of clean air and water, species diversity, and social and generational equity. By excluding biophysical and social systems from their analyses, many conventional economists overlook problems of the increasing scale of human impacts and the inequitable distribution of resources. Ecological Economics is an introductory-level textbook for an emerging paradigm that addresses this flaw in much economic thought. The book defines a revolutionary "transdiscipline" that incorporates insights from the biological, physical, and social sciences, and it offers a pedagogically complete examination of this exciting new field. It provides students with a foundation in traditional neoclassical economic thought, but places that foundation within a new interdisciplinary framework that embraces the linkages among economic growth, environmental degradation, and social inequity. Introducing the three core issues that are the focus of the new transdiscipline -- scale, distribution, and efficiency -- the book is guided by the fundamental question, often assumed but rarely spoken in traditional texts: What is really important to us? After explaining the key roles played by the earth's biotic and abiotic resources in sustaining life, the text is then organized around the main fields in traditional economics: microeconomics, macroeconomics, and international economics. The book also takes an additional step of considering the policy implications of this line of thinking. Ecological Economics includes numerous features that make it accessible to a wide range of students: more than thirty text boxes that highlight issues of special importance to students lists of key terms that help students organize the main points in each chapter concise definitions of new terms that are highlighted in the text for easy reference study questions that encourage student exploration beyond the text glossary and list of further readings An accompanying workbook presents an innovative, applied problem-based learning approach to teaching economics. While many books have been written on ecological economics, and several textbooks describe basic concepts of the field, this is the only stand-alone textbook that offers a complete explanation of both theory and practice. It will serve an important role in educating a new generation of economists and is an invaluable new text for undergraduate and graduate courses in ecological economics, environmental economics, development economics, human ecology, environmental studies, sustainability science, and community development.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - KeithAkers - LibraryThing

This is an excellent textbook. The hardest part for me was when he talks about traditional economics, which was new to me, but it was clearly explained and did not require a lot of math. There are, however, a LOT of new concepts.

Contents

• The Fundamental Vision: 15
• Ends Means and Policy: 37
• Abiotic Resources: 77
• Biotic Resources: 93
• From Empty World to Full World: 111
• The Basic Market Equation: 125
• Supply and Demand: 141
• Market Failures: 157
• Market Failures and Abiotic Resources: 185
• Market Failures and Biotic Resources201: 201
• GNP and Welfare: 223
• Money: 245
• Distribution: 259
• The ISLM Model: 277
• International Trade: 309
• Globalization: 323
• International Flows and Macroeconomic Policy: 343
• General Policy Design Principles: 359
• Sustainable Scale: 373
• Just Distribution: 389
• Efficient Allocation: 405
• Looking Ahead: 425
• Suggested Readings: 443
• Index: 449

About the author

Joshua Farley is assistant professor in Community Development and Applied Economics and research assistant professor at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont. He is also on the faculty of the Center for Resource Management and Environmental Studies at the University of the West Indies in Barbados. Herman E. Daly is professor at the University of Maryland, School of Public Affairs. From 1988 to 1994 he was senior economist in the environment department of the World Bank. Prior to 1988 he was Alumni Professor of Economics at Louisiana State University, where he taught economics for twenty years. His books include Steady-State Economics (Freeman, 1977; second edition, Island Press, 1991); For the Common Good (with John Cobb, Beacon, 1989), and Beyond Growth (Beacon, 1996). In 1996, he received the Heineken Prize for Environmental Science awarded by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the "alternative Nobel Prize.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Ecological Economics: Principles And Applications; Ecological Economics Textbook Series
• Authors: Herman E. Daly, Joshua Farley
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Island Press, 2004
• ISBN: 1559633123, 9781559633123
• Length: 454 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Development / Sustainable Development; Business & Economics / Economics / General; Business & Economics / General; Science / Life Sciences / Ecology