Energy and Economic Myths: Institutional and Analytical Economic Essays is a collection of materials that deal with various issues and concerns in economics. The title aims to clarify the misconception in economics. The first part of the text deals with the issues in natural resources and the economics of production. Next, the selection tackles the problems in institutional economics. Part III covers the epistemological and methodological concerns in economics. The title also talks about economic theories. The book will be of great interest to economists and readers who want to enhance their understanding of economic concepts.

The Jevons Paradox, which was first expressed in 1865 by William Stanley Jevons in relation to use of coal, states that an increase in efficiency in using a resource leads to increased use of that resource rather than to a reduction. This has subsequently been proved to apply not just to fossil fuels, but other resource use scenarios. For example, doubling the efficiency of food production per hectare over the last 50 years (due to the Green Revolution) did not solve the problem of hunger. The increase in efficiency increased production and worsened hunger because of the resulting increase in population. The implications of this in todays world are substantial. Many scientists and policymakers argue that future technological innovations will reduce consumption of resources; the Jevons Paradox explains why this may be a false hope. This is the first book to provide a historical overview of the Jevons Paradox, provide evidence for its existence and apply it to complex systems. Written and edited by world experts in the fields of economics, ecological economics, technology and the environment, it explains the myth of efficiency and explores its implications for resource usage (particularly oil). It is a must-read for policymakers, natural resource managers, academics and students concerned with the effects of efficiency on resource use.

In The Delusions of Economics, Gilbert Rist presents a radical critique of neoclassical economics from a social and historical perspective. Rather than enter into existing debates between different orthodoxies, Rist instead explores the circumstances that prevailed when economics was 'invented', and the resultant biases that helped forge the construction of economics as a 'science'. In doing so, Rist demonstrates how these various presuppositions are either obsolete or just plain wrong, and that traditional economics is largely based on irrational convictions that are difficult to debunk due to their 'religious' nature. As a result, we are prevented from properly understanding the world around us and dealing with the financial, environmental, and climatic crises that lie ahead. Provocative and original, this essential book provides incontrovertible proof that the construction of a new economic paradigm - pluralistic, ecologically compatible, grounded in reality - has now become a necessity.

Originally published in 1977, Energy II provides a comprehensive and updated bibliography of energy in the context of the social sciences. Following on from the first bibliography published in 1975, this book offers a fully updated bibliography, and argues that energy problems are best seen in the context of social phenomena, such as social attitudes, social behaviours, social institutions and structures and populations. The book provides a unique list of references that examine energy problems outside of the context of social factors.

'The Jevons Paradox', which was first expressed in 1865 by William Stanley Jevons in relation to use of coal, states that an increase in efficiency in using a resource leads to increased use of that resource rather than to a reduction. This has subsequently been proved to apply not just to fossil fuels, but other resource use scenarios. For example, doubling the efficiency of food production per hectare over the last 50 years (due to the Green Revolution) did not solve the problem of hunger. The increase in efficiency increased production and worsened hunger because of the resulting increase in population. The implications of this in today's world are substantial. Many scientists and policymakers argue that future technological innovations will reduce consumption of resources; the Jevons Paradox explains why this may be a false hope. This is the first book to provide a historical overview of the Jevons Paradox, provide evidence for its existence and apply it to complex systems. Written and edited by world experts in the fields of economics, ecological economics, technology and the environment, it explains the myth of efficiency and explores its implications for resource usage (particularly oil). It is a must-read for policymakers, natural resource managers, academics and students concerned with the effects of efficiency on resource use.

Developing a new political thought to address today’s planetary crises What is “planetary thinking” today? Arguing that a new approach is urgently needed, Yuk Hui develops a future-oriented mode of political thought that encompasses the unprecedented global challenges we are confronting: the rise of artificial intelligence, the ecological crisis, and intensifying geopolitical conflicts. Machine and Sovereignty starts with three premises. The first affirms the necessity of developing a new language of coexistence that surpasses the limits of nation-states and their variations; the second recognizes that political forms, including the polis, empire, and the state, are technological phenomena, which Lewis Mumford terms “megamachines.” The third suggests that a particular political form is legitimated and rationalized by a corresponding political epistemology. The planetary thinking that this book sketches departs from the opposition between mechanism and organism, which characterized modern thought, to understand the epistemological foundations of Hegel’s political state and Schmitt’s Großraum and their particular ways of conceiving the question of sovereignty. Through this reconstruction, Hui exposes the limits of the state and reflects on a new theoretical matrix based on the interrelated concepts of biodiversity, noodiversity, and technodiversity. Arguing that we are facing the limit of modernity, of the eschatological view of history, of globalization, and of the human, Hui conceives necessary new epistemological and technological frameworks for understanding and rising to the crises of our present and our future. Retail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly.

This book connects Georgescu-Roegen's earlier work such as consumer choice theory and a critique of Leontief's dynamic model, with his later ambitious attempt to reformulate the economic process as 'bioeconomics'.

This book gives an overview of the problem of providing economics with a biophysical foundation, explains the importance of energy in economic valuation and aims to develop novel ways of evaluating the physical constraints of our planet and the services provided by the natural environment.

'Daly's contributions to the still emergent field of ecological economics are constant references for our peers throughout the developing world as well as in the North. His courageous tilting at the windmills of mainstream economic nonsense inspire us to continue questioning: in whose interests do we continue on a perpetual search for unlimited material satisfaction? Daly's conception is not only of a world restricted by biophysical limits, but also one in which poverty and deprivation are commonplace, and where Sisyphean efforts to maintain accelerated economic growth only exacerbate inequitable distribution. His vision of sustainable economic welfare shed light on other aspects of our existence which make it worth living. Thanks to Farley, Rees, El Serafy, Goodland and other fellow travelers, we are bestowed with an excellent collection synthesizing Daly's contributions to our work, which will inspire our youth and their children long after we too depart.' - Peter H. May, President, Brazilian Society for Ecological Economics (ECOECO) 'Contributed by several eminent thinkers, the chapters in this book herald the paradigm shift that is needed to save the scientific framework of economics. In spite of the conceptual inconsistencies, GDP continues to be accepted by the nation states as the singular parameter to comprehensively describe the health of their economy. What gets easily hidden behind 'Market Failures ' is actually the success of cost-shifting on the heads of the ignorant and marginalized people as 'price for economic growth'. The chapters eloquently establish the need for moving beyond the religious faith on a paradigm that is facing fundamental conceptual challenges but has not addressed them with due seriousness. What is a greater contribution of this collection is the identification of the gaps in knowledge of economics that need to be filled-up to arrive at some basic articulations of the new paradigm that can throw some light on what is ecologically and socially 'Sustainable Development'.' - Jayanta Bandyopadhyay, Past President, The Indian Society for Ecological Economics 'The title Beyond Uneconomic Growthcaptures both the core of Herman Daly's key message and the linguistic mastery that makes his texts so enjoyable to read. The book forms a great tribute to the work of Herman Daly by gathering a distinguished set of contributors, covering a a wide variety of the topics that Daly has dealt with, and pointing in new directions.' - Inge Røpke, Aalborg University, Denmark This engaging book brings together leading ecological economists to collectively present a definitive case for looking beyond economic growth as the sole panacea for the world's ecological predicament. Grounded in physics, ecology, and the science of human behavior, contributors show how economic growth itself has become ''uneconomic'' and adds to a ravaging of both social and ecological cohesion. Guided by a clear moral vision that prioritizes sustainability and justice over profit, the authors provide a blueprint for an economy that replaces quantitative growth with qualitative improvement to enhance human welfare while restoring degraded ecosystems. They present solutions for many of today's challenges, ranging from global climate change and biodiversity loss to natural resource depletion. This interdisciplinary work not only relates ecological economics theory to the most urgent predicaments of the contemporary world, but also pays tribute to the work of Herman Daly, a leading pioneer of modern ecological economics. Researchers and faculty studying and teaching ecological economics and environmental studies will find value in this unprecedented book. It will also be of interest to practitioners working to solve a variety of global environmental issues.