03-02 "Macroeconomics for the Twenty-First Century"

Macroeconomic theory has not yet come to grips with major issues of the twenty- first century. These include environmental pressures, demographic changes, the size, structure, and power of multinational corporations, and growing economic inequality. Existing macroeconomic theory also does not deal adequately with normative issues, focuses excessively on market solutions, assumes that a single macroeconomic theory can apply to all situations, and ignores issues concerning the scale of economic activity and the speed of change.

03-07 "Five Kinds of Capital: Useful Concepts for Sustainable Development"

The concept of capital has a number of different meanings. It is useful to differentiate between five kinds of capital: financial, natural, produced, human, and social. All are stocks that have the capacity to produce flows of economically desirable outputs. The maintenance of all five kinds of capital is essential for the sustainability of economic development.

Development connections: The hedgerow model

This is chapter 3 of the book "Rethinking Sustainability: Power, Knowledge and Institutions" by Jonathan M. Harris (ed). Effective development usually must involve both the elite and the most needy within any particular society—these two groups being seen not as polar types but as the opposite ends of a spectrum that runs continuously between them. The form of that involvement must include connections that allow for the free exchange of information between the two ends of the spectrum. These connections must also facilitate flows of power and physical resources. It is sometimes assumed that these must be asymmetrical flows, going primarily from those who have the greatest access to power and other resources, to those who have least access. However, within this overall context, under certain circumstances there is development value in flows that are equalized by the market—where the poor either pay for what they get, or sell what they make at a market price. All of these flows have the best chance of occurring when the connections are made via intermediaries—social entities who generally have less access to resources than the elite, but more than the most needy.economic development; elites; pro-poor development

03-03 "Reconciling Growth and Environment"

Macroeconomic theory and policy are strongly based on the assumption that economic growth is a fundamental goal. The environmental realities of the twenty- first century compel a reassessment of macro theory in terms of the impact of current growth patterns on planetary ecosystems.This paper examines the macroeconomic impacts of growth in terms of several major areas of conflict between economic demands and ecosystem capacities:

Development connections: The hedgerow model

This is chapter 3 of the book "Rethinking Sustainability: Power, Knowledge and Institutions" by Jonathan M. Harris (ed). Effective development usually must involve both the elite and the most needy within any particular society—these two groups being seen not as polar types but as the opposite ends of a spectrum that runs continuously between them. The form of that involvement must include connections that allow for the free exchange of information between the two ends of the spectrum. These connections must also facilitate flows of power and physical resources. It is sometimes assumed that these must be asymmetrical flows, going primarily from those who have the greatest access to power and other resources, to those who have least access. However, within this overall context, under certain circumstances there is development value in flows that are equalized by the market—where the poor either pay for what they get, or sell what they make at a market price. All of these flows have the best chance of occurring when the connections are made via intermediaries—social entities who generally have less access to resources than the elite, but more than the most needy

Development connections: The hedgerow model

This is chapter 3 of the book "Rethinking Sustainability: Power, Knowledge and Institutions" by Jonathan M. Harris (ed). Effective development usually must involve both the elite and the most needy within any particular society—these two groups being seen not as polar types but as the opposite ends of a spectrum that runs continuously between them. The form of that involvement must include connections that allow for the free exchange of information between the two ends of the spectrum. These connections must also facilitate flows of power and physical resources. It is sometimes assumed that these must be asymmetrical flows, going primarily from those who have the greatest access to power and other resources, to those who have least access. However, within this overall context, under certain circumstances there is development value in flows that are equalized by the market—where the poor either pay for what they get, or sell what they make at a market price. All of these flows have the best chance of occurring when the connections are made via intermediaries—social entities who generally have less access to resources than the elite, but more than the most needy

"Economics in Context: The Need for a New Textbook"

economics education, textbooks, economic theory

Assumption without representation: the unacknowledged abstraction from communities and social goods

We have not clearly acknowledged the abstraction from unpriceable “social goods” (derived from communities) which, different from private and public goods, simply disappear if it is attempted to market them. Separability from markets and economics has not been argued, much less established. Acknowledging communities would reinforce rather than undermine them, and thus facilitate the production of social goods. But it would also help economics by facilitating our understanding of – and response to – financial crises as well as environmental destruction and many social problems, and by reducing the alienation from economics often felt by students and the public