Development Of Ecological Economics Research Articles

Research on Financing Strategy of Green Energy-Efficient Supply Chain Based on Blockchain Technology

With the development of ecological economics, energy-saving green energy chain management has been a wide concern of academia and industries. However, the relatively high cost of green investment makes manufacturers face the problem of financial constraints. On this basis, because the green level information of products is proprietary to manufacturers, manufacturers will lie about the green level of products in order to improve their profits out of the principle of profit maximization. As a result, banks cannot obtain the true green level of products, reducing the benefits of the green energy-efficient supply chain system and making the market of green products volatile. In view of this, blockchain technology is introduced in this paper to improve customer’s product green level sensitivity and obtain lower green credit interest rates from banks. In this paper, a green supply chain financing model based on blockchain technology was constructed under the condition of green information misreporting, and it is compared with the benchmark without blockchain technology. Research shows that the adoption of blockchain can achieve Pareto improvement of green supply chain members. In addition, manufacturers have an incentive to adopt blockchain if the cost of blockchain investment falls below a certain threshold, and consumer green sensitivity increases below that threshold. We compared the profits of green manufacturers with those of retailers and the total emissions of manufacturers. The results show that: (1) When the financing intensity exceeds a certain value, there is an optimal coverage of green financing to ensure that the profit target of manufacturers, the profit target of retailers and the emission reduction target are achieved simultaneously. (2) The adoption of blockchain can achieve Pareto improvement of green energy supply chain members. The actual data of green transformation of Jinyuan New Technology Company were cited. Through calculation, it was found that green transformation can reduce the emissions of enterprises. When the financing intensity is in a certain range, the profits of manufacturers and retailers can be maximized, and the emission reduction degree is the highest. Thus, the practicability and reliability of this model were proved. (3) Manufacturers have an incentive to adopt blockchain if the cost of blockchain investment falls below a certain threshold, and consumer green sensitivity increases below that threshold. The research results of this paper provide solutions for enterprises with limited funds for green transformation and provide a theoretical basis for the government to formulate emission reduction incentive mechanism.

Review of the monograph by N.G. Gadzhiev, S.A. Konovalenko, M.N. Trofimov, “Theoretical aspects of the formation and development of ecological economics in Russia. Moscow, Infra‐M Publ., 2022, 169 p.”

The monograph reviewed is devoted to the place and role of ecology and environmental safety in ensuring the sustainable socio‐economic development of society. In the conditions of the obligatory transition of the economies of the leading countries of the world from an industrial type to a new form of "green economy" aimed at ensuring the preservation of ecological systems and the maximum reduction of damage to the biodiversity of ecological systems, the Russian Federation faces the task of forming a new course of socio‐economic development of society focused on the preservation of the potential of nature and ecology at a level enabling the support of the viability of society, flora and fauna in the foreseeable future and in the long term. The authors outline the role and importance of environmental safety in the system of ensuring the economic security of the state, examine the concept of the ideology of Global Commons in ensuring sustainable socio‐economic development of society, analyse the problems and prospects for the implementation of the Green Course of Russia programme, and examine special aspects of environmental audit, accounting and control, damage assessment in the field of ecology. Special attention is paid to the forecast of the dynamics of key environmental indicators for the medium term. The main directions of increasing the effectiveness of the mechanism for ensuring environmental safety in a market economy are described.

Alfred Marshall, Evolutionary Economics and Climate Change

ABSTRACT The way in which any topic is analysed in economics depends on methodological approach. The purpose here is to explore the argument that the way in which climate change is addressed depends on how economics is understood to relate to the physical environment and also to the social and ethical environment. This involves an exploration of the formation of knowledge, both in economics and in the economy. Alfred Marshall’s evolutionary approach to knowledge formation was central to his approach to economics and to his understanding of economic behaviour. Here, we consider the application of Marshall’s approach to issues around climate change, through the lens of the subsequent development of evolutionary economics and ecological economics.

Eco-Economic Environment Coupling Based on Urban RSEI Theory

Introduction. Ecological environment is the foundation of social and economic development, and the coordinated development of social economy and ecological environment is one of the hotspots in urban sustainable development research. Traditional ecological economic measurement methods usually have problems such as difficulty in data acquisition and difficulty in pasteurization. In recent years, with the rise of global remote sensing technology, remote sensing has also been used to observe human social and economic activities. Remote sensing data have been created for the limitations of traditional statistical data with the advantages of being independent in the field of ecological and economic measurement. Methodology. This paper uses luminous remote sensing technique to obtain the visible-near-infrared electromagnetic wave information emitted from the surface at night under cloudless conditions and MODIS data combined with urban RSEI theory to quantitatively invert the ecological environment quality of the study area in 2019 based on a remote sensing perspective, taking a certain urban agglomeration in China as the research area. And it is continuous in time and space. Therefore, the coordination degree of remote sensing data should be fully explored in quantitative research. For proper analysis, regression was used. Research Content and Results. 2019 MODIS data were used to retrieve the six vegetation-related ecological environment factors in the study area and combine the urban RSEI theory to construct the remote sensing ecological comprehensive index of the study area, and the vegetation ecological environment quality and spatial agglomeration characteristics were evaluated. The results showed that vegetation coverage, leaf area index, total primary productivity, and surface moisture make positive contributions to the ecosystem of the study area. Based on the theoretical basis of coupling coordination theory, ecological economic theory, and sustainable development, we measured the degree of coordinated development between the social economic system and the ecological environment system in the study area from 2018 to the future period and combined the research results with the study area. The actual situation explores the practice path of benign coupling of the ecological economy. Conclusion. This paper is completely based on the research ideas of remote sensing data to measure the socioeconomic level and ecological environment quality and proves that remote sensing data and urban RESI theory are efficient and reliable new tools for the coordinated development of ecological economics. The research results can provide a development plan for urban agglomeration.

A Review of Research on Ecological Economics Based on Bibliometrics

The development of ecological economics is a major strategy for development in the 21st century. Although scholars have been rising more and more interesting for ecological economic over the past 10 years, it is still unclear what is the change will be facing in the future. In order to provide a theoretical basis for the future development of ecological economy, our article analyzes the current research progress of ecological economy on the basis of a bibliometric analysis. The results show that (1) sustainable development of an ecological economy is a hot research topic; (2) there is little cooperation and exchange between institutions and among scholars regarding ecological economics; (3) the number of publications on ecological economics is increasing, with a relatively large number being published in China. Therefore, we must strengthen the cooperation between institutions and among scholars and improve the research content, vision, and methods in this field. This study provides a theoretical basis for the future development of ecological economy.

Coordinated Development of Urban Land Use and Ecological Economics in China

To analyze the coordination between land use and the ecological economy in China, ecoefficiency and land use intensity were measured using the nonradial, nonoriented slacks-based measure (SBM) and the vertical and horizontal scatter degree method. The TOPSIS method was then used to comprehensively evaluate regional differences in coordination. Our research indicates that the level of coordinated development between intensive urban land use and the ecological economy in China showed an overall upward trend from 2006 to 2017. The level of coordination was high in Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin and was low in Gansu, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. Changes in ecoefficiency were not consistent with the degree of coordination, and intensive urban land use was positively correlated with the level of coordination, which showed a mutually reinforcing relationship. Improving ecoefficiency is necessary for intensive urban land use, and for ecological improvement, coordinated development between ecoefficiency and urban land use intensity is essential. The establishment of environmentally friendly land use patterns could promote urban land use.

Financing equilibrium in a green supply chain with capital constraint

Green supply chain management has received significant attention from both academic and industrial fields with the development of ecological economics. However, the fact that upstream manufacturers may have insufficient capital for greening and operational decisions is ignored. This study investigates a green supply chain financing (GSCF) system consisting of one capital-constrained manufacturer, one retailer, and one bank. A green manufacturer can obtain loans through two financing scenarios: green credit financing (GCF) and mixed financing (combining a partial prepayment from the retailer and GCF). We derive the financing equilibriums of the GSCF system under GCF and mixed financing, then compare them against a benchmark under which the manufacturer has sufficient capital to invest in green production. The analytical and numerical results reveal that the manufacturer is willing to undertake green investment, while the retailer is better off providing a partial prepayment. However, when the consumer’s environmental awareness is relatively lower or the manufacturer’s initial capital is relatively higher, the manufacturer is not willing to accept the prepayment due to the squeeze from the retailer.

Zero growth: A grand challenge for the Asia-Pacific region

This article presents a systematic and scientific literature review of the topic ‘zero growth’. Since its origins in the late 18th century, growth economics has expanded significantly in recent decades, leading to the development of ecological economics, political economics and growth and degrowth economics. It is apparent that humankind is now running out of time to develop a global consensus as to what approaches should be taken to transition from growth to zero growth and degrowth. Zero growth is the grand challenge of this century, particularly for the Asia-Pacific region where economic growth has been an imperative for emerging economies. Using Japan as an illustrative example, this article explores the scenario of a no-growth economy that is now confronted with potentially a zero-growth or even a degrowth future. The grand challenge for not just Japan but the entire Asia-Pacific region is how to survive a zero-growth future. Furthermore, this article also identifies emerging themes for future research to progress the zero-growth and degrowth discussions. JEL Classification: F64, N5, Q32, Q5

Deliberation and the Promise of a Deeply Democratic Sustainability Transition

Ecological economics arose as a normative transdiscipline aiming to generate knowledge and tools to help transition the economy toward a scale which is sustainable within the bounds of the earth system. Yet it remains unclear in practice how to legitimize its explicitly normative agenda. One potential means for legitimation can be found in deliberative social and political theory. We review how deliberative theory has informed ecological economics, pointing to three uses: first, to support valuation of non-market goods and services; second, to inform environmental decision-making more broadly; third, to ground alternative theories of development and wellbeing. We argue that deliberation has been used as problem-solving theory, but that its more radical implications have rarely been embraced. Embracing a deliberative foundation for ecological economics raises questions about the compatibility of deeply democratic practice and the normative discourses arguing for a sustainability transition. We highlight three potential mechanisms by which deliberation may contribute to a sustainability transition: preference formation; normative evaluation; and legitimation. We explore each in turn, demonstrating the theoretical possibility that deliberation may be conducive in and of itself to a sustainability transition. We point to a series of challenges facing the “scaling up” of deliberative systems that demand further empirical and theoretical work. These challenges constitute a research agenda for a deeply democratic sustainability transition and can inform the future development of ecological economics and other normative, critical transdisciplines.

Mainstream economics toolkit within the ecological economics framework

Development of ecological economics was a response to the environmental crisis born by the economic growth. Ecological economics, in contrast to mainstream economics, is characterized by value pluralism and interdisciplinary approach that makes it hard to achieve methodological unanimity. This paper considers if the mainstream methods could be used to tackle environment problems effectively. To this purpose, the integrated macro model is proposed. It suggests that all environment externalities could be accounted in the existing production-consumption system. So using the new ideology based on ecological economics priorities and applying the toolkit of mainstream economics, we could transform the existing pricing system and provide effective institutional reforms to ensure sustainable development.

Study on the Equity of He’nan Resource-Environment Based on Ecological Capacity

The article made quantitative analysis of the fairness of resources environment 2007-2011 of He‘nan Province based on ecological capacity. The results show that (1) in recent 5years, the Gini Coefficient of the indicators based on ecological capacity is: solid waste>industrial waste gas>energy consumption>industrial waste water. And the Gini Coefficient of the first 3 is all > 0.4 which exceeds the international security level. There are great equity in solid waste, waste gas emission and energy consumption etc in the cities and areas of Henan province; (2) the 4 ecological load coefficient of Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Pingdingshan, Anyang, Hebi, Jiaozuo, Sanmenxia and Jiyuan are all>1. These cities and areas are the factors which caused the inequity of the energy consumption and pollutant emissions of Henan Province; (3) the inequity of the entire energy consumption and pollutant emissions of Henan Province are affected by the industrial spatial distributions. Equity and efficiency should be both considered and it should lay emphasis on the coordinated development of ecological economics.

The Research Methods Based on Emergy Theory of the Value of Natural Capital

Emergy is the condensation by the energy forming substances, is the new achievements of development of systems ecology and ecological economics in recent years. This article briefly describes the generating process of energy value theory and analysis methods, and makes a discussion on theory of emergy and regard the energy input of natural process as nature’s work. The value of substance is the condensation of work. Use the emergy as the main Dimensionless to measure the value, and regard natural ecosystems as natural capital. We discussed the new developments of the international ecology Emergy analysis methods and principles, and pointed out that the theoretical research and practical application has important scientific significance and application.

Ecological accounting and evaluation of urban economy: Taking Beijing city as the case

Urban economy is confronted with increasing biophysical limitations derived from the exhaustion of natural resources and the depletion of environmental capacity, and human cultural diversity has been declining during the fast urbanization. The conventional anthropocentric economics, regarding the natural environment as the ‘exterior’ of human economy, is invalid in the scientific evaluation on the contribution of natural resources and environment as well as human culture when facing the current urban crises. The theory of embodied cosmic exergy, as the latest development of ecological economics and ecological thermodynamics, is introduced in this study to construct an ecological evaluation framework of urban economy. The advantage of embodied cosmic exergy dedicated to ecological economics has been discussed in comparison with other ecological evaluation alternatives. Transformities describing hierarchies and manifesting quality are systematically calculated and tabulated. A new framework of embodied cosmic exergy based on network accounting (EmexNA) is sketched out in this study, taking not only diversity flows but also ecological stocks into consideration. The stock based concept of ‘ecological wealth’ and the flow based concept of ‘ecological cost’ as well as related evaluation indicators are developed based on EmexNA. Taking Beijing city as the case, the network accounting and related ecological evaluation of a practical urban economy are carried out in this study in the light of the basic social, economic and environmental data available from 1990 to 2005 of Beijing. The system construction and the ecological mechanism of the development of Beijing economy are correspondingly illuminated and discussed.

Relating the philosophy and practice of ecological economics: The role of concepts, models, and case studies in inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability research

We develop a general and unifying methodology for ecological economics which integrates philosophical considerations on the foundations of ecological economics with an adequate operationalization. We argue that the subject matter and aims of ecological economics require a specific combination of inter- and transdisciplinary research, and discuss the epistemological position on which this methodology is based. In accordance with this understanding of inter- and transdisciplinarity and the underlying epistemological position, we develop an operationalization which comprises simultaneous analysis on three levels of abstraction: concepts, (generic) models and case studies. This provides a systematic and integral view on ecological economics, and thus allows one to see the relationship between contributions to the field that have so far been perceived as very heterogeneous and largely unrelated. At the same time, this methodological framework may provide orientation for the further development of ecological economics.

Classical Marxism and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Today's understanding of the significance of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels's work for the development of both ecological economics in particular and ecology in general has been hindered by persistent claims that Engels (and by imputation Marx) rejected the second law of thermodynamics. It is demonstrated here through textual analysis that Engels criticized not the entropy law itself but the extrapolation of this into the “heat death theory of the universe” hypothesis. The historical debate surrounding this hypothesis is examined, showing that Engels and Marx remained consistent with the natural science of their day. This opens the way to the recognition that Marx's political economy was unique in the 19th century in incorporating thermodynamics into the core of its analysis, thus providing the foundations for an ecological economics. The materialist-dialectical view of classical Marxism led to a dynamic, open, contingent approach to the earth system, reflecting a general evolutionary perspective.

Bounded rationality and hierarchical complexity: Two paths from Simon to ecological and evolutionary economics

This paper examines two paths by which the work of Herbert Simon has influenced the development of ecological and evolutionary economics: bounded rationality and hierarchical complexity. It argues that there is scope for further consideration of the implications of these ideas, particularly their inter-relation. This is illustrated through some recent ideas on the co-evolution of technologies and institutions. This is related to understanding transitions of technological systems, and how these might be steered or modulated towards greater sustainability.

Development of ecological economics in Australia and New Zealand

This paper reviews the development of ecological economics in Australia and New Zealand since its beginnings in the late 1970s. A historical account is presented that focuses particularly on the activities of the Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics and key ecological economics research activities. Achievements of ecological economics in Australia and New Zealand are assessed, using a range of quantitative and qualitative data. The main areas of expertise developed by Australian and New Zealand ecological economists were found to be: theoretical foundations and visions for ecological economics; biodiversity and resilience; input–output analysis; heterodox valuation approaches; analysis of economy–environment interactions; sustainability indicators; sustainable agriculture, fisheries and oceans; and energy/thermodynamics. Both countries are ranked at the top (or near the top) of the world rankings in terms of per capita ISEE membership and publication rates in Ecological Economics. A defining feature of ecological economics in Australia and New Zealand has also been its practical and problem-solving focus and the level of end-user engagement. The paper concludes by discussing the challenges that face the future development of ecological economics in Australia and New Zealand.

Trends in the development of ecological economics from the late 1980s to the early 2000s

As the contributions to ecological economics are very diverse, recent years have seen some discussion on both how to delimit the field, and in which direction it should develop. The intention with this paper is to contribute to the discussion by outlining important trends in the development of the field from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. The study is inspired by other studies in the sociology and history of science, in particular by the theoretical framework regarding scientific fields as reputational organizations, which draws attention to both cognitive and social aspects of the formation of a field. The basis for the paper is a combination of literature studies, interviews with key researchers in the field, and ‘participant observations’. The paper outlines the characteristic cognitive features of ecological economics at the time of the birth of the field. It is then described how the development in ecological economics was influenced by broader social factors during the following years, and how the field was shaped by the inflow and outflow of different groups of researchers. The emergence of different research programmes is outlined, as is the organizational development. Finally, the characteristics of ecological economics are summarized and the future prospects are briefly assessed.

Law, Environment, and Vision

Environmental law stands uncomfortably poised between visions. Once driven by essentially moral, cultural, and aesthetic purposes, environmental regulatory agenda now seems, like other aspects of emerging cost-benefit state, to be emphatically instrumentalist. Although legal framework established during primarily ethical environmentalism of 1970s remains largely intact, consensus view of commentators today is that this framework represents a failing paradigm. The future of environmental regulation instead lies in such efficiency-oriented instruments as tradable permits, corrective taxes, disclosure schemes, and other tools designed to replicate conditions of a well-functioning market. Indeed, tradable permit has been called the most fashionable innovation in environmental policy today, promising not only to achieve regulatory goals with less cost than traditional command and control techniques, but also to inspire reasoned deliberation by public and its representatives regarding such weighty issues as very type of environment in which we desire to live. This Article argues that republican moment promised by tradable permit schemes will remain stubbornly elusive so long as environmental law and policy is dominated by either ethical environmentalism of 1970s or stark instrumentalism of conventional economic theory. Because many mainstream approaches to economics fail to recognize absolute limits imposed by nature on ability of humans to appropriate and utilize natural resources, they also fail to provide a sound conceptual basis on which to make political judgments required by tradable permit schemes. Just as cost-benefit analysis seems incoherent under absolutism of 1970s-era environmental statutes, setting aggregate limits to annual pollutant emissions appears nonsensical -- or at least not urgent -- within a theoretical model that recognizes no binding constraints to economic growth. Fortunately, an alternative vision exists. More or less simultaneous with shift to efficiency-oriented environmental regulation has been development of ecological economics, an emerging field that seeks to bring multidisciplinary rigor to study of nature's role within human economic production. By fusing insights from ecology, population biology, and physics with theoretical framework of economics, ecological economists attempt to provide a more nuanced understanding of human-ecosystem interactions than those offered independently by either economists or conservationists. Significantly, ecological economists rely upon a preanalytic vision of human activity that is bounded by natural constraints. This vision or worldview provides a simple yet surprisingly radical departure from mainstream economic thought. As this Article attempts to demonstrate, it also provides basis for an alternative conception of goals of collective governance, one that brings much-needed coherence to environmental decision-making within reign of market-based regulation.

The Development of Ecological Economics

The Development of Ecological Economics