Ecological economics
The Ecological Economics or even Ecological economics is an inter -and trans -disciplinary field of science that deals with the exploration of possibilities for action in the face of ecological limits of the carrying capacity of natural systems. Goal is the scientific foundation of sustainable development, taking account of environmental, economic, political and social aspects. The Ecological Economics is based on a socio-ecological system connection between the natural, socio - economic and cultural development.
Classification
As Ecological Economics resultant approaches to the renewal of environmental economics are referred to, particularly in the 1980s. The "traditional" environmental economy is mainly based on the neoclassical theory and understand environmental problems mainly as faulty allocation of resources due to external effects. The Ecological Economics is against this purely economic approach and considers itself a transdisciplinary contrast. For example, an attempt is made in the German -speaking countries, explicitly explore socio-ecological research with reference to the social conditioning of ecological limits. Ecological limits of physical size of the economy ( "scale", material flow, see Herman Daly ) are considered in absolute terms and transmitted as limits to growth in the economics. To determine the limits to growth, for example, the thermodynamic conditions of production and consumption on the " Spaceship Earth " ( Kenneth E. Boulding ) is considered. What elements of natural capital can be to what extent replaced by produced capital on the way to the limits of growth and may, is an important field of ecological economics.
Methodological classification
The articles published in the journal Ecological Economics contributions cover both content and method from a wide range of topics, which can only be disarmed delimited from contributions within the (neo - ) classical environmental and resource economics. The tendency is they were valid to question some of the often uncritically applied axioms or working hypotheses of the neoclassical either explicitly or negate. Examples are
- The emphasis on the distribution dimension ( "justice" ) economic decisions to a sole focus on the overall economic efficiency,
- Rejecting the Kaldor -Hicks criterion as unseen " valid " decision criterion for social allocation issues,
- The desire to supplement, if not overcome the cost-benefit analysis at elevated acceptance kriterieller multi- method,
- Attention for multiple perspectives on the relationship between environment and development, including the thematization of power issues.
Under various names appear occasionally in the German language tests on environmental economics and ecological economics to connect (eg Sustainable Economy, New Environmental Economics ).
As far as the heterogeneity can be said of the contributions of a unified science understanding, Ecological Economics strives tend then to tackle complex relationships and needs of sustainable development. Necessarily you then exceed the narrow confines of a discipline -oriented " normal science " towards a more problem-oriented and diszipinenübergreifenden transdisciplinarity. The productive dealing with uncertainty and lack of knowledge is at the center of such a "post- normal" science (see also Social -Ecological Research ).
Institutions in Germany
In Germany in 1985 the Association for Ecological Economic Research ( VÖW ) and the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (Iow ) were founded in 1996 by the Association for Ecological Economics ( VÖÖ ). International particular the European Society for Ecological Economics ( ESEE ) and the International Society for Ecological Economics ( ISEE ) worth mentioning.
The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig in 2007 was the venue of the first meeting of the ESEE in Germany and at that time had Germany's largest research team Ecological Economics. At the Carl-von- Ossietzky University of Oldenburg Institute for Ecological Economics by Bernd Siebenhüner is busy.