Re: post keynesian economics and environmetal sustainablity

["Petrick, Karl [LBS]" <K.Patrick@xxxxxxxxx>]

I think that there's also some interesting Institutionalist work on ecology, as well.  Peter Soderbaum has written on it, including an article in the June 2000 JEI.


> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Forstater, Mathew [SMTP:ForstaterM@xxxxxxxx]
> Sent:	22 January 2002 23:37
> To:	Ric Holt; pkt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject:	Re: post keynesian economics and environmetal sustainablity
>
> I have always thought it was interesting that economists use
> predator-prey models to study business cycles (e.g., Willi Semmler) and
> ecologists use neoclassical economics to study things like optimal
> foraging.  I told my ecologist friends, you can have those neoclassical
> models--they may apply to the animal world, they don't to human society.
>
> The field called "ecological economics" emerged as an alternative to
> mainstream environmental economics, and it is very "pluralistic", but
> generally tries to integrate social science and natural science. Some
> have written on the relation of PK economics and ecological economics.
> John Gowdy was one, I believe.  Eban Goodstein has also used some PK
> stuff in his environmental work, including Nell's transformational
> growth idea.  There was an article years ago in the JPKE by Peter
> Bird(?) on PK vs. neoclassical with regard to environmental.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ric Holt [mailto:rholt@xxxxxxx]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2002 4:34 PM
> To: pkt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: post keynesian economics and environmetal sustainablity
>
>
>
>
>
> Why do you say that the predictions of science are made in an ergodic
> world?  Human behaviors and decision-making are part of what
> environmental policy makers must consider in their scenarios. I don't
> see why it should be any different in economics and environmental.
>
> I agree with you that there are inherent weaknesses with
> decision-makers because we all are human and have prejudices, etc., but
> my point is that the model system that say biologists use to understand
> the natural world is very different from the model system that
> neoclassical economists use to understand how the economy works. What if
> we started to use more the metaphors from say biology in understanding
> how the economy works and making environmental policy as compared to the
> nonergodic and linear world of neoclassical economics?
> -Ric
>