A Survey of Ecological Economics

The emergent discipline of ecological economics is based on the idea that the world's economies are a function of the earth's ecosystems -- an idea that radically reverses the world view of neoclassical economics. A Survey of Ecological Economics provides the first overview of this new field, and a comprehensive and systematic survey of its critical literature.The editors of the volume summarize ninety-five seminal articles, selected through an exhaustive survey, that advance the field of ecological economics and represent the best thinking to date in the area. Each two- to three-page summary is far more comprehensive than a typical abstract, and presents both the topics covered in each paper and the most important arguments made about each topic. Sections cover: historical perspective definition, scope, and interdisciplinary issues theoretical frameworks and techniques energy and resource flow analysis accounting and evaluation North-South/international issues ethical/social/institutional issues Each section is preceded by an introductory essay that outlines the current state of knowledge in the field and proposes a research agenda for the future. A Survey of Ecological Economics is the first volume in the Frontier Issues in Economic Thought series produced by the Global Development And Environment Institute at Tufts University.

Jonathan M. Harris is senior research associate at the Global Development And Environment Institute at Tufts University.

Neva R. Goodwin is Co-Director of the Global Development And Environment Institute at Tufts University.