The Steady State Economy and the Mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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How to Teach a Course In Ecological Economics
Brian Czech
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Outline

• Why teach ecological economics?
• Three major themes
• Course objectives
• Syllabus

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Why teach ecological economics?
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Natural resources originate from the mind, not
the ground, and therefore are not depletable.
Robert L. Bradley, Jr., 2002
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How did this happen?

• Perfect Storm in Political Economy
• Henry George
• Progress and Poverty, 1879
• George vs. land barons
• Incipient tax code at stake
• Establishment of American economics
• The Corruption of Economics
• (Gaffney, 1994)

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Production Function
Y (K, L)
Czech, B. 2009. The neoclassical production
function as a relic of anti-George politics
implications for ecological economics.
Ecological Economics 682193-2197.
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Modern Economic Growth Theory

• Solow model
• Lucas model
• Romer model

Y (K, L)
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Neoclassical Economy

Business
Household
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With Economic Growth

Household
Business
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Ecological Economics

• Ecological economics movement
• Laws of thermodynamics
• Principles of ecology

Herman Daly
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Ecological Economy
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With Economic Growth
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Three Themes in Ecological Economics
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Themes and Leaders
Scale Distribution
Allocation (Sustainability) (Justice)
(Efficiency)
Daly
Costanza
Martinez-Alier
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Course Objectives
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Students should be able to...

• Provide a historical sketch of economic thought
  in the post-mercantile world.
• Using examples, describe why the principles of
  ecology are relevant to economics.
• Identify the laws of thermodynamics and discuss
  how they affect the development of ecosystems and
  economies.

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Students should be able to...

• Provide a general description of the scope and
  philosophy of neoclassical economics.
• Identify the factors of economic production and
  discuss how their relative importance has evolved
  in economic theory.
• Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of
  neoclassical economics in terms of its ecological
  foundations.

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Students should be able to...

• Describe the trophic structure of the human
  economy.
• Identify the sources of economic growth and
  discuss the interaction among these sources.
• Describe the status and trends of the factors of
  production.

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Students should be able to...

• Explain why biodiversity and other natural
  resources conservation has become a function of
  macroeconomic policy.
• Identify the goals and most prominent policies of
  neoclassical and ecological economics.
• Describe the unique political pressures placed
  upon the economics profession and how these
  affect theory and policy.

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Students should be able to...

• Describe the economic policies and prominent
  political aspects of the steady state economy.
• Define the term political economy and propose a
  model of political economy conducive to a
  sustainable society and uses of natural
  resources.

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Syllabus
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Assumptions

• Time of the essence
• For ecological economics instruction
• For us! (Here too, even.)
• Undergrad or Grad (One Course)
• Significant ecology, economics, and teaching
  background

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The
Textbook
Daly, H. E., and J. Farley. 2003. Ecological
economics principles and applications. Island
Press, Washington, DC. 450pp.

• 23 chapters
• Strong focus on 3 themes
• Second edition soon

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Three Good Supplements
Jackson
Czech
Victor
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Daly and Farley Sections

• An Introduction to Ecological Economics
• The Containing and Sustaining Ecosystem
• Microeconomics
• Macroeconomics
• International Trade
• Policy

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You must provide...

• More historical background
• More principles of ecology
• Trophic levels
• Niche breadth
• Competitive exclusion
• More about technological progress

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K
Natural capital allocated to economy of nature
GDP
Natural capital allocated to human economy
Time
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Fisheries
Volume 30 Series Logo
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Therefore
K
To conserve fish and wildlife...
GDP
...maintain steady state economy sufficiently
below K.
Time
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Natural Capital Allocation
KU
X natural capital allocable
KT
GDP
Natural capital allocated to economy of nature
Natural capital allocated to human economy
Time
 
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Reconciliation Hypothesis
KU
X natural capital (still) allocable
KT2
 
Capital-free growth zone  
KT1
Natural capital allocated to economy of nature
GDP
Natural capital allocated to human economy
Time
 
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Pointers

• Remind students of themes.
• Keep discussions focused on textbook.
• Seek optimum participation.
• Allocate more time to material you are familiar
  with.
• Do supplement text(s) with ecology.

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Resources to Monitor

• CASSE, www.steadystate.org
• International Society for Ecological Economics
• Gund Institute for Ecological Economics
• U.S. Society for Ecological Economics
• Economics for Equity and the Environment, E3
  Network
• Global Development and Environment Institute,
  Tufts U.
• The Post-Autistic Economics Network

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CASSE Resources

• Bibliography
• Reprints
• Slideshows
• Videos
• Speakers
• News

www.steadystate.org
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Good luck!
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www.steadystate.org