Governance and The New Economic Order: At The Roots of Uncertainty. Managing Risks in The Service Economy

The Club of Rome has achieved worldwide renown, sometimes stimulated by heavy criticism, after the publication in 1972 of its report on «Limits to Growth». This was a very critical time since the high rate of growth of the economy in most of the industrialized countries after the World War II had been until then of around 6% per year. From 1973 until now, such rate of growth has declined to about 2 to 3 % per year in the average. The "scandal" of the Club of Rome consisted in the fact that doubts were expressed on the possibility of a continued, and as one would say today of a "sustainable", growth. This article summarizes another point of view: during those years, there has been a fundamental change in the way in which wealth is produced. The industrial revolution based essentially on investment in new machines, tools and products, had given way to the emergence of service functions- in all sectors of the economy - as the key factors of production. This issue is therefore essentially a view from the supply side of the economy. A series of reports were proposed through the Club of Rome to support this analysis based on over two decades of experience in the manufacturing as well as in the traditional service sector. The difficulty, which persists today, is that the classical and neo-economic analysis is still bound essentially to fundamentals linked to a reality in which the manufacturing system would be dominant. When services become determinant for the production of the wealth of nations, the very basic notion of economic value changes its connotations and the issue is at the end philosophical: value can not anymore be defined as the result of an equilibrium system where the disequilibria have to be considered as a matter of imperfect information. Such information is bound, in the service economy, to remain constantly imperfect because it involves the utilization of products and systems in time. A larger and larger part of costs in the performance of such systems in time is linked to future events where even that duration of utilization is uncertain. The value system is therefore basically dependent on the uncertainties of reality. The assumption is that the deterministic model, which is still dominant in the traditional macroeconomic analysis, has in fact given way to in deterministic systems. As a major consequence, the key economic issue today is that of understanding and managing, as fundamental problems, risks, uncertainty and vulnerability.

Coming of age of the service economy

The modern service economy relies not just on the manufacture of products but on their correct functioning. This measuring of how systems work means that qualitative and non-monetarized considerations are becoming more important. The notion of risk and the management of vulnerability and uncertainty become key issues in the service economy. Consideration has now to be given to both risks which those involved can influence and also those over which there is no control. It is essential to adapt to the new service economy and see the opportunities for real economic and social growt

Challenge of uncertainty: a dialogue

The natural sciences and the social sciences are more and more frequently being found to be dealing with varying degrees of uncertainty. This tends to close the gap between chem. A draft declaration for a Centre for Reflection on Uncertainty starts by saying that death is the only future certainty. All the rest is life, uncertaint

Circular Supply Chains in Emerging Economies – a comparative study of packaging recovery ecosystems in China and Brazil

This paper provides a circular supply chain perspective of packaging recovery ecosystems being implemented by Tetra Pak, a prime global player in the food packaging industry, in two major emerging economies: China and Brazil. The circular supply chain archetype considered in the research allowed a consistent comparative analysis of Tetra Pak’s circular supply chains in both countries. Through a case study approach, the research provides theoretical propositions and learning points that are valuable for academics and practitioners interested in the Chinese and Brazilian markets as well as in the supply chains supporting recovery ecosystems in the packaging industry. In particular, the distinct environments in the Chinese and Brazilian markets render Tetra Pak opportunities to design circular supply chains in different ways showing adaptation and learning to local market characteristics. The industrial perspectives from these emerging economies add to the contributions offered in the paper. Overall, the conceptual considerations and practical recommendations presented in the paper provide useful insights for the development of further studies and implementation of industrial practices advocated by the circular economy

The Balance Sheet of the Parallel Action carried out by the Secretariat of the Soul and Precision, 100 Years Later

Exactly 100 years ago, Austrian writer Robert Musil’s book “The Man Without Qualities” foresaw the cultural challenge that Relativity and Quantum Theory would pose to the Newtonian mechanistic worldview of the 19th century. His book anticipated the transition that would eventually compel a deterministic, reductionist science of predictability to enter into dialogue with the emerging subjective and intuitive perception of uncertainty, complexity, freedom and creativity, which promises to revolutionize our way of thinking in the 21st century. Musil anticipated the reconciliation of science and the arts – universal, immutable, scientific truth and dynamic, indeterminate human nature. This essay traces the evolution of Economics from a deterministic material science seeking to emulate the mathematical precision and predictability of Physics into a human-centred social science compatible with indeterminism and uncertainty. The notion of Newtonian equilibrium in Economics is rapidly giving way to dynamic, evolutionary disequilibrium

The Riches of the Ocean for Humankind: Rethinking Value in Economics and Development

We acknowledge the inadequacy of the ancient model to develop the wealth of nations and the recognition that both economics and ecology are the best possible ways to manage world and human resources to achieve a better wealth of nations. The rebuilding of economics and of a credible strategy for increasing the wealth and well-being of nations is today at the center of the problem of providing a sound basis for the legitimacy and credibility of public institutions and governments. If the dichotomy between traditional economic goals and new ecological and environmental requirements for sustainable development will not credibly combine, the political consensus and the legitimacy of governments at the local, national, and international levels will have a tendency to produce on the new liberalizing world disaggregation effects that could be as extensive as those witnessed in former Marxist countries. The oceans are a fundamental part of this patrimony and Elisabeth Mann* should be remembered for her very important dedication on this issue