John Proops

This innovative book uses a little-known methodological research tool to study ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS), the subject of the book, is a novel and interesting social phenomenon which seems to constitute a more ecologically rational and socially inclusive form of economic activity. LETS is a system for exchanging goods and services without the use of formal, legal tender. Unlike barter, LETS members buy and sell using their own nominal currency units, but the currency in which trade is conducted is purely a means of exchange, not a commodity in itself or a store of value. The authors of this book examine LETS, and in particular they discuss whether LETS can be viewed as an aspect of the 'greening' of citizenship, with the potential to contribute to the transition to, and maintenance of, a more sustainable society. They describe the part LETS can play in raising environmental awareness; offering more sustainable practices of production and consumption and helping to create in the community the preconditions for sustainability. In their study of LETS, the authors use Q methodology, (a qualitative methodology for the systematic study of subjectivity and shared discourses) and at the same time they evaluate its usefulness for social scientific environmental research. They find that it is a powerful methodological approach which is consistent with many of the core principles, values and aims of ecological economics. They also conclude that Q has the potential to contribute to environmental policy analysis and the creation of a more participative, democratic and effective form of environmental policy making. This book will be of great interest to all social scientists interested in social movements, environment and citizenship, and in particular those wanting to understand the application of Q methodology for social science research.

This ground-breaking book focuses on neo-Austrian capital theory and its application to the modelling of long-run economy-environment interactions. The book begins by presenting an overview of the modelling approach and offers an historical survey of capital theory and its development. The authors then provide a detailed introduction to the neo-Austrian modelling technique and extend it to include time horizons and growth models. The model is then applied to environmental issues such as green national accounts, resource rents and climate change to show how the neo-Austrian approach gives fresh and illuminating insights. An empirical application to the iron and steel industry is also presented. Capital and Time in Ecological Economics will be of interest to ecological and environmental economists, economic capital theorists and all those following developments in the neo-Austrian approach to economics.

Ecological Economics offers an authoritative overview of a rapidly developing discipline lying at the interface of economics, natural science and philosophy. This pioneering new book focuses on the concepts and methods required to integrate sciences and humanities in order to build ecological economics. Ecological Economics as a practice seeks to comprehend the evolving interactions between humans and the natural world. Ranging across the discipline from its conceptual and philosophical foundations to problems of global warming and waste production in the chemicals industry, the authors confidently address the central dilemma of control over nature by humans ignorant of the environmental impacts of their actions. Faber, Manstetten and Proops argue convincingly for an evolutionary approach to human-nature interactions and for the use of natural science concepts, such as entropy. Students and researchers concerned with environmental, resource and ecological economics will welcome Ecological Economics as a convincing and innovative approach to the creation of a discipline capable of contributing to a new relationship between human and non-human nature.