Stefan Baumgärtner, Malte Faber and Johannes Schiller: Joint Production and Responsibility in Ecological Economics. On the Foundations of Environmental Policy

Abstract

Evolutionary and ecological economics share a similar history. Discontent with standard economics was a major impetus in the emergence of both fields. In the case of ecological economics, understanding and overcoming the limits of standard economic tools in addressing environmental issues was most important. Both fields are moreover characterized by methodological plurality, including an openness to draw on concepts and findings imported from other disciplines. Neither has developed a canonical approach, but the diversity in methods has been sustained. Evolutionary and ecological economics also share common interests. Most notably, both are concerned with long-term development, and with the interrelations between the natural and the socio-economic spheres. These parallels make it worthwhile for evolutionary economists to keep track of advances and discussions in ecological economics. For more than 20 years, Malte Faber, professor emeritus at the University of Heidelberg, has been a leading theorist of ecological economics. In contrast to many other ecological economists (but not unlike Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, the towering pioneer of that field), Faber came from economic theory, specifically Austrian capital theory, and he has always maintained a close relationship to it. At the same time, he has engaged in interdisciplinary research of an unusual scope. His collaborators and students include researchers trained in physics, chemistry, and engineering, as well as philosophy and management. Based on their diverse backgrounds, Faber and his collaborators have integrated ideas from disciplines as dissimilar as thermodynamics and ethics into theoretical advances that are solidly grounded in economics and build on accepted economic concepts. The result is a