Transdisciplinary sources of ecological economics
| Disciplines | The scope of interest in ecological economics |
|---|---|
| Social sciences and humanities |
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| Political science |
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| Law and legal sciences |
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| Environmental sciences |
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| Technical sciences |
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| Economics |
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Research areas of ecological economics, according to R_ Constanzy, H_ Daly’ego and J_ Bartholomew
| From–To | Economic sectors | Ecological sectors |
|---|---|---|
| Economic sectors | Orthodox trends in economics, traditional models of economic growth | Economics of the environment and natural resources, an ecologically-economically sustainable growth model |
| Ecological sectors | Economics of natural resources, durable growth model | Ecology, zero growth model |
| Ecological economy, the concept of sustainable development | ||
Ecological and environmental economics paths in identifying and solving problems of the natural environment
| Ecological economy | Environmental economics |
|---|---|
| The paradigm of greening the economy | The paradigm of economising the natural environment |
| Creating ways of understanding the relationship between the natural environment - man - economy based on ecology, ethics and philosophy | Using the achievements of modern economics and economic thinking |
| Building a proper ecological awareness and life (consumption) attitudes | Launching effective market mechanisms to solve ecological problems |
| Practical use of resources, values and services of the natural environment, taking into account the criteria of intra- and intergenerational justice | Practical use of resources, values and services of the natural environment with the use of static and dynamic optimisation methods |
| Economics of sustainable development |
Comparison of conventional and ecological economics in terms of R_ Constanza, H_ Daly and J_ Bartholomew
| Feature | ‘Conventional’ economy | Ecological economy |
|---|---|---|
| General view of the world | Mechanistic, static, atomistic, individual preferences are recognized as basic data and dominant forces to be considered in the analysis, natural resources unlimited thanks to technologies and substitution | A dynamic systemic, evolutionary; preferences, technologies and organisms co-evolve to reflect a wide spectrum of ecological opportunities and constraints, people are responsible for their role in social and natural systems and their sustainability |
| Timeframe | Short: 50 years, usually 1–4 | Multiscale: days to centuries multiscalar synthesis |
| Spatial framework | Local – International: Basic Analysis Units Companies and Countries | Local-global: scale hierarchy |
| Genre framework | Only people | Entire ecosystems, including man: recognizes the relationship between nature and man |
| Primary macro target | Growth of the national economy | Sustainability of the ecological and economic system |
| The primary target of micro | Maximize profit (company) or utility (person): this drive leads to the macro goal, external costs and benefits ignored | Must be aligned with the macro goal: social organization and cultural institutions at a higher level of the temporal and spatial hierarchy resolve conflicts arising from short-sighted lower-level micro-goals |
| Assumption of technological progress | Very optimistic | Cautious sceptical |
| Scientific character | Monodisciplinary | Transdisciplinary |