Resources
GDP accounting and critiques
Definition and methods Macroeconomic accounting establishes the size of the economy by measuring the Gross Domestic Product. It is called ‘gross’, because the depreciation and amortisation of capital (deduction of capital …
Well-being
The term ‘well-being’ is most commonly used to describe what is ultimately good for a person. The question of what well-being consists of is of great importance for various disciplines, …
Public participation in environmental decision-making
There is a growing body of literature on public participation in environmental assessment and decision-making, within which several authors (e.g. Antunes et al., 2009; NRC, 2008) have proposed a set …
Institutions
Contrary to standard economic theory emphasising the role of individuals, ecological economists such as Daniel Bromley (2006) or Arild Vatn (2005) have highlighted the prominent role of institutions in shaping …
Tragedy of the Commons: Hardin’s mistake
‘The Tragedy of the Commons’ stems from Garrett Hardin’s influential article of 1968 in which he referred to all common-pool natural resources that were not government or privately owned. As …
Property rights
In standard economics, property rights refer to a bundle of entitlements defining an owner’s rights, privileges and limitations to the use of a resource. An efficient structure of property rights …
Externalities
Social costs – or externalities, in the language of standard economics – are harmful effects that are not internalized in the production costs of enterprises. Therefore, market prices do not …
Carbon trading
Launched through the Kyoto protocol in 1997, carbon trading is an approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reduced emissions of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Carbon trading takes two …
Human energy use (endosomatic / exosomatic)
Ecological economists distinguish (following A. Lotka’s ideas) between ‘endosomatic’ and ‘exosomatic’ use of energy by humans. Inside the body, as food energy, adult humans spend per day between 1,500 and …
Virtual water and water footprint
Humans consume water directly for drinking, cooking and washing, but much more for producing commodities such as food, paper, cotton clothes, etc. The amount of water that is used in …
The project ENVJUSTICE has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 695446)