Publication Date
6-15-2022
Document Type
Working Paper
Advisor
Professor John Hall
Journal of Economic Literature Classification Codes
B29, B49, Q00, Q59
Key Words
Assumptions, Ecological Economics, Environmental Economics, Methodological Foundations
Abstract
This inquiry seeks to establish that the field within the Discipline of Economic Science known as Ecological Economics is based upon assumptions and methodological foundations that differ from the field of Environmental Economics. It shall be argued that Environmental Economics did not emerge as the result of a new shift in economic thinking, but rather formed around a reorientation of standard neoclassical assumptions. This was undertaken in an effort to address environmental issues emerging several decades back. In contrast, it shall be argued that the field of Ecological Economics has brought to the Economics Discipline an appreciation for novel assumptions and a distinct methodology that differs fundamentally from Neoclassical Economics and, in fact, challenges many of the neoclassical assumptions that form the foundation for Environmental Economics. This inquiry seeks to establish that while leaders in the field of Ecological Economics have succeeded in their efforts to adapt new assumptions and methods that have diverged from those found in Neoclassical Economics, the field of Environmental Economics has failed to shift away from the neoclassical method and related assumptions, and this can be argued to have contributed to the ongoing mismanagement of the world's environmental resources.
Rights
© 2022 Audrey Demeaux
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/38677
Citation Details
Audrey Demeaux. "Ecological Economics versus Environmental Economics, Working Paper No. 64", Portland State University Economics Working Papers. 64. (15 June 2022) i + 14 pages.