by Jonathan M. Harris, Brian Roach and Anne-Marie Codur This module, based on chapters 12 and 13 of Harris and Roach’s textbook, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: A Contemporary Approach, discusses the scientific evidence on climate change, including recent projections on temperature and sea-level rise. It then evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of economic analysis of […]
By Eric Kemp-Benedict This upper-level module presents the study of “green macroeconomics,” viewing the economy as embedded in society, which is embedded in the environment. The module takes a pluralist approach, contrasting neoclassical, post-Keynesian and classical theory, but uses classical models for illustration. Topics include climate mitigation and adaptation, renewable resources, and energy return on […]
By Erin Lennox and Rebecca Hollender This module considers the problems of environmental degradation and inequality in relation to growth-centric development. Perspectives on alternatives to growth along with related policies, practices and challenges are discussed to explain the need to limit economic activity to within the biophysical limits of the planet. The module features extensive […]
By Jonathan M. Harris, Brian Roach, Pratistha Joshi Rajkarnikar and Neva Goodwin This module, based on Chapter 17 of Macroeconomics in Context, discusses the future of economic growth in an era of ecological limits. It includes analysis of population growth, resources and pollution, and the climate crisis. Policies for a transition to sustainability and a “green” […]
By Pratistha Rajkarnikar, Neva Goodwin and Brian Roach This module, drawn from the fifth chapter of Macroeconomics in Context, presents an overview of innovations in national accounting related to measuring well-being. The module describes satellite accounts for the environment, methods of counting household production and the construction of well-being indicators such as the Genuine Progress Indicator, […]
By Brian Roach, Neva Goodwin and Julie A. Nelson This module presents material drawn from Chapter 8 of Microeconomics in Context, 5th edition, to explore the various motivations behind consumer behavior. The historical development of the “consumer society” is summarized, including a discussion of the institutions underlying mass consumerism. The relationship between consumption and well-being is surveyed, […]
By Anne-Marie Codur and Jonathan Harris The latest stage in global efforts to respond to climate change was the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Glasgow in November 2021. The conference brought together delegations from 197 countries with the goal of achieving major progress […]
By Dr. Brian Roach Twenty years since the initial publication, the Fifth Edition of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: A Contemporary Approach by Jonathan M. Harris and Brian Roach is now available from Routledge. The text provides coverage of core theoretical concepts from environmental and ecological economics, along with topical chapters on climate change, fisheries, […]
ECI Senior Researcher Julie Nelson’s article, “Economics and Community Knowledge-Making,” was published in the Journal of Economic Methodology in January 2021. The paper suggests that the economics discipline is beginning to acknowledge the social nature of knowledge-making, which contrasts with the field’s tradition of imagining objectivity as “something attainable by lone (traditionally male) researchers.” Positive […]
In a recently published paper, June Sekera, Senior Research Fellow at BU’s Global Development Policy Center and her collaborator from The New School, Andreas Lichtenberger, reviewed the literature on carbon dioxide removal and found that the use of public funds to subsidize industrial-chemical methods is often counterproductive. The paper analyzes the flawed premises upon which […]