Ecological economics
The three pillars of sustainability
Ecological economics is a transdisciplinary
field of academic research that aims to ad-
dress the interdependence of human econom-
ies and natural ecosystems. It
is distin-
guished
from environmental
economics,
which is the mainstream economic analysis of
the environment, by its treatment of the eco-
nomy as a subsystem of the ecosystem and
its emphasis upon preserving natural capit-
al.[1] One survey of German economists
found that ecological and environmental eco-
nomics are different schools of economic
thought, with ecological economists emphas-
izing "strong" sustainability and rejecting the
proposition that natural capital can be substi-
tuted for human-made capital.[2]
Ecological economics was founded in the
works of Kenneth E. Boulding, Nicholas
Georgescu-Roegen, Herman Daly, Robert
Costanza, and others. The related field of
green economics is, in general, a more polit-
ically applied form of the subject.[3][4]
The identity of ecological economics as a
field has been described as fragile, with no
generally accepted theoretical
framework
and a knowledge structure which is not
clearly defined.[5] According to ecological
economist Malte Faber, ecological economics
is defined by its focus on nature, justice, and
time. Issues of intergenerational equity, irre-
versibility of environmental change, uncer-
tainty of long-term outcomes, and sustainable
development guide ecological economic ana-
lysis and valuation.[5] Ecological economists
have questioned fundamental mainstream
economic approaches such as cost-benefit
analysis, and the separability of economic
values from scientific research, contending
that economics is unavoidably normative
rather than positive (empirical).[6] Positional
analysis, which attempts to incorporate time
and justice issues, is proposed as an alternat-
ive.[7][8]
Ecological economics includes the study of
the metabolism of society, that is, the study
of the flows of energy and materials that
enter and exit the economic system. Th