[en] Economics is an unavoidable decision-making tool in the field of climate policy. At the same time, traditional economics is being challenged both empirically and theoretically by scholars in different fields. Its non-neutrality in dealing with climate-related issues—which is illustrated by the controversy over the “no-regret potential”—would thus call for an opening of economics to insights from other disciplines. Within that context, we show that an evolutionary-inspired line of thought coupled with a systemic and historical perspective of technological change provides a very insightful alternative to traditional economics. More particularly, it follows from that framework that the picture of the climate challenge ahead looks very different from what traditional economic analyses would suggest. For instance, the lock-in process makes it unlikely that traditional cost-efficient measures (such as carbon taxation or tradable emission rights) will be sufficient to bring about the required radical changes in the field of energy as they fail to address structural barriers highlighted in our approach.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Maréchal, Kevin ; Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Economie et développement rural
Language :
English
Title :
The economics of climate change and the change of climate in economics
scite shows how a scientific paper has been cited by providing the context of the citation, a classification describing whether it supports, mentions, or contrasts the cited claim, and a label indicating in which section the citation was made.
Bibliography
Abernathy W., and Utterback J. Patterns of industrial innovation. Technology Review 80 (1978) 3-9
Aghion P., and Howitt P. Endogenous Growth Theory (1998), MIT Press, Cambridge
Arena R., and Lazaric N. La théorie évolutionniste 20 ans après: une introduction. Revue Economique 54 2 (2003) 323-329
Arentsen M., Kemp R., and Luiten E. Technological change and innovation for climate protection: the governance challenge. In: Kok M., Vermeulen W., Faaij A., and de Jager D. (Eds). Global Warming and Social Innovation: The Challenge of a Carbon-neutral Society (2002), Earthscan, London 59-82
Arrow K., Dasgupta P., Goulder L., Daily G., Ehrlich P., Heal G., Levin S., Mäler K., S. Schneider S., Starrett D., and Walker B. Are we consuming too much?. Journal of Economic Perspectives 18 3 (2004) 147-172
Arthur, W.B., 1983. On competing technologies and historical small events: the dynamics of choice under increasing returns. Working paper, International Institute for Applied Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria, pp. 83-90.
Arthur W.B. Competing technologies, increasing returns and lock-in by historic events. The Economic Journal 99 (1989) 116-131
Arthur W.B. Positive feedbacks in the economy. Scientific American 262/2 (1990) 92-99
Arthur, W.B., 1991. Information constriction and information contagion. Working Paper 91-05-026, Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe.
Arthur W.B. Increasing Returns and Path Dependence in the Economy (1994), University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI
Arthur W.B., Ermoliev Y., and Kaniovski Y. Path dependence processes and the emergence of macro-structure. European Journal of Operational Research 30 (1987) 294-303
Azar C., and Dowlatabadi H. A review of technical change in assessment of climate policy. Annual Review of Energy and Environment 24 (1999) 513-544
Balmann A., Odening M., Weikard H.P., and Brandes W. Path-dependence without increasing returns to scale and network externalities. Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organisation 29/1 (1996) 159-172
Berkhout F. Technological regimes, path dependency and the environment. Global Environmental Change 12 (2002) 1-4
Berkhout P.H.G., Muskens J.C., and Velthuijsen W.J. Defining the rebound effect. Energy Policy 28 6 (2000) 425-432
BP, 2003. Defining our path. BP Sustainability Report 2003.
Brown M. Market failures and barriers as a basis for clean energy policies. Energy Policy 29 (2001) 1197-1207
Camerer C., and Loewenstein G. Behavioral economics: past, present, future. In: Camerer C., Loewenstein G., and Rabin M. (Eds). Advances in Behavioral Economics (2004), Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
Carillo-Hermosilla, J., 2005. A policy approach to the environmental impacts of technological lock-in. Paper presented at the sixth International Conference of the European Society for Ecological Economics, Lisbon, June 2005.
Carlsson B. On and off the beaten path: the evolution of four technological systems in Sweden. International Journal of Industrial Organization 15 6 (1997) 775-799
Castelnuovo, E., Galeotti, M., 2002, Reconsidering the role of environmental technical change: an application with the ITC-RICE99 model, Fondazione ENI Enrico Mattei, mimeo.
Climate Group, 2004. Carbon down, profits up, August version revised. On-line available: 〈http://www.theclimategroup.org/assets/Carbon_Down_Profit_Up.pdf〉.
Cohen J. The vulcanization of the human brain: a neural perspective on interaction between cognition and emotions. Journal of Economic Perspective 19 4 (2005) 3-24
Colander D. The death of neoclassical economics. Journal of the History of Economic Thought 22 2 (2000) 127-143
Corning P. Holistic Darwinism: "synergistic selection" and the evolutionary process. Journal of Social and Evolutionary Systems 20 4 (1997) 400-636
Cowan R. Nuclear power reactors: a study in technological lock-in. Journal of Economic History 50 3 (1990) 541-567
Cowan R., and Foray D. Evolutionary economics and the counterfactual threat: on the nature and role of counterfactual history as an empirical tool in economics. Journal of Evolutionary Economics 12 (2002) 539-562
Cowan R., and Hulten S. Escaping lock-in: the case of the electric vehicle. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 53 (1996) 61-79
Craig P., Gadgil A., and Koomey J. What can history teach us? A retrospective examination of long-term energy forecasts for the United States. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment 27 (2002) 83-118
Cusumano M., Mylonadis Y., and Rosenbloom R. Strategic manoeuvring and mass-market dynamics: the triumph of VHS over Beta. Business History Review 66 1 (1992) 51-94
Damasio A. Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain (1995), Harper Collins, New York
Damasio A. The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness (2000), Harcourt Brace, New York
David P. Clio and the economics of QWERTY. American Economic Review 75 2 (1985) 332-337
David P. Path dependence, its critics and the quest for "historical economics". In: Garrouste P., and Ioannides S. (Eds). Evolution and Path Dependence in Economic Ideas: Past and Present (2000), Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham
David P., and Bunn D. The economics of gateway technologies and network evolution. Information Economics and Policy 3 (1988) 165-202
David P., and Rothwell G. Standardization, diversity and learning: strategies for the coevolution of technology and industrial capacity. International Journal of Industrial Organization 14 2 (1996) 181-201
De Almeida E. Energy efficiency and the limits of market forces: the example of the electric motor market in France. Energy Policy 26 8 (1998) 643-653
DeCanio S. Economic modelling and the false tradeoff between environmental protection and economic growth. Contemporary Economic Policy 15 4 (1997) 10-27
DeCanio S. The efficiency paradox: bureaucratic and organizational barriers to profitable energy-saving technologies. Energy Policy 26 5 (1998) 441-454
del Rio, P., Unruh, G., 2006. Overcoming the lock-out of renewable energy technologies in Spain: the cases of wind and solar electricity. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Review, forthcoming.
Dopfer K. Evolutionary economics: a theoretical framework. In: Dopfer K. (Ed). The Evolutionary Foundations of Economics (2005), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Dopfer K., Foster J., and Potts J. Micro meso macro. Journal of Evolutionary Economics 14 (2004) 263-279
Dosi G. Technological paradigms and technological trajectories. Research Policy 11 (1982) 142-167
Dosi G. Opportunities, incentives and the collective patterns of technological change. The Economic Journal 107 444 (1997) 1530-1547
Dosi G., Nelson R., and Winter S. The Nature and Dynamics of Organizational Capabilities (2000), Oxford University Press, New York
Dosi G., Marengo L., and Fagiolo G. Learning in evolutionary environments. In: Dopfer K. (Ed). The Evolutionary Foundations of Economics (2005), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Economides N. The economics of networks. International Journal of Industrial Organization 14 6 (1996) 673-699
Edenhofer, O., Carraro, C., Koehler, J., Grubb, M. (Eds.), 2006. Endogenous technological change and the economics of atmospheric stabilisation. The Energy Journal, Special Issue.
Farrell J., and Saloner G. Installed base and compatibility: innovation, product preannouncements and predation. American Economic Review 76 5 (1986) 940-955
Fehr E., and Gächter S. Cooperation and punishment in public goods experiments. American Economic Review 90 4 (2000) 980-995
Flink J. America Adopts the Automobile Age (1970), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Flink J. The Automobile Age (1988), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Foray D. The dynamic implications of increasing returns: Technological change and path dependent inefficiency. International Journal of Industrial Organization 15 6 (1997) 733-752
Foreman-Peck, J., 1996. Technological lock-in and the power source for the motor car. Discussion Papers in Economic and Social History 7, University of Oxford.
Foreman-Peck J. Was the electric car 'Locked Out'?. In: Cowan R., and Hulten S. (Eds). Electric Vehicles: Socio-economic Prospects and Technological Challenges (2000), Ashgate, Aldershot
Foreman-Peck J. The path dependence of technological trajectories-the battery electric vehicle. In: Tissot L., and Veyrassat P. (Eds). Technological Trajectories-Markets-Institutions (2001), Carl Peters, Zurich
Foster J. The analytical foundations of evolutionary economics: from biological analogy to economic self-organisation. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics 8 4 (1997) 427-452
Frankel M. Obsolescence and technological change in a maturing economy. American Economic Review 45 (1955) 296-319
Freeman C., and Perez C. Structural crises of adjustment, business cycles and investment behavior. In: Dosi G., Freeman C., Nelson R., Silverberg G., and Soeten L. (Eds). Technical Change and Economic Theory (1988), Pinter Publishers, London 38-66
Gowdy, J., 2004. Altruism, evolution and welfare economics. Discussion on Henrich, J., 2004. Cultural group selection, coevolutionary processes and large-scale cooperation. Journal of Economic Behaviour & Organisation 53 (1), Special issue on "Evolution and altruism", pp. 69-73.
Gowdy J., and Erickson J. Ecological economics at a crossroads. Ecological Economics 53 (2005) 17-20
Gray P. The paradox of technological development. In: Ausubel J., and Sladovich H. (Eds). Technology and Environment (1989), National Academy Press, Washington, DC
Grubb, M., Carraro, C., Schellnhuber, J., 2006. Technological change for atmospheric stabilisation: introductory overview to the innovation modelling comparison project. In: Edenhofer, O., Carraro, C., Koehler, J., Grubb, M. (Eds.), Endogenous Technological Change and the Economics of Atmospheric Stabilisation. The Energy Journal, Special issue.
Grübler A. Technology and Global Change (1998), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Henrich, J., 2004. Cultural group selection, coevolutionary processes and large-scale cooperation. Journal of Economic Behaviour & Organisation 53 (1), Special issue on "Evolution and altruism", pp. 3-35.
Henrich J., Boyd R., Bowles S., Gintis H., Camerer C., Fehr E., and McElreath R. In search of Homo economicus: experiments in 15 small-scale societies. American Economic Review 91 (2001) 73-78
Hughes T. Networks of Power (1983), Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore
Huntington, H., Schipper, L., Stanstad, A. (Eds), 1994. Market for Energy Efficiency. Energy Policy 22 (10), Special issue, pp. 795-885.
Interlaboratory Working Group, 2000. Scenario for a Clean Energy Future (CEF). On-line available: 〈http://www.ornl.gov/ORNL/Energy_Eff/CEF.htm〉.
IPCC, 1996. Climate Change 1995: The Science of Climate Change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Islas J. Getting round the lock-in in electricity generating systems: the example of the gas turbine. Research Policy 26 (1997) 49-66
Jaffe A., and Stavins R. The energy-efficiency gap: what does it mean. Energy Policy 22 10 (1994) 804-810
Jonard N., and Yildizoglu M. Technical diversity in an evolutionary industry model with localized learning and network externalities. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics 9 (1998) 35-53
Katz M., and Shapiro C. Network externalities, competition and compatibility. American Economic Review 75 3 (1985) 424-440
Katz M., and Shapiro C. Technology adoption in the presence of network externalities. Journal of Political Economy 94 4 (1986) 822-841
Kemp R. Technology and the transition to environmental sustainability-the problem of technological regime shifts. Futures 26 (1994) 1023-1046
Kemp, R., Reinstaller, A., 1999. The creation of a technology path in a world of path dependence. Paper presented at the Workshop on "Path Dependence and Creation", Maastricht, 1-2 July.
Kirsch, D., 1994. Flexibility and Stabilization of Technological Systems: The Case of the Second Battle of the Automobile Engine. In: Proceedings of the Conference on Evolutionary Economics of Technological Change, Strasbourg, France, vol. 2, October 7, 1994,pp. 1373-1410.
Kline D. Positive feedback, lock-in, and environmental policy. Policy Sciences 34 (2001) 95-107
Koehler, J., Grubb, M., Popp, D., Edenhofer, O., 2006. The transition to endogenous technical change in climate-economy models: a technical overview to the innovation modeling comparison project. In: Edenhofer, O., Carraro, C., Koehler, J., Grubb, M. (Eds.), Endogenous Technological Change and the Economics of Atmospheric Stabilisation. The Energy Journal, Special issue.
Krause F. The cost of mitigating carbon emissions: a review of methods and findings from European studies. Energy Policy 24 (1996) 899-915
Kuhn T. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1970), Chicago University Press, Chicago, IL
Laitner, J., Finman, H., 2000. Productivity benefits from industrial energy efficiency investments. A monograph prepared for the EPA Office of the Atmospheric Programs, Washington, DC, March.
Laitner J., DeCanio S., and Peters I. Incorporating behavioural, social and organizational phenomena in the assessment of climate change mitigation options. In: Jochem E., Sathaye J., and Bouille D. (Eds). Society, Behaviour and Climate Change Mitigation (2000), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands 1-64
Levine M., and Sonnenblick R. On the assessment of utility demand-side management programs. Energy Policy 22 10 (1994) 848-856
Liebowitz S., and Margolis S. The fable of the keys. Journal of Law and Economics 22 (1990) 1-25
Liebowitz S., and Margolis S. Network externality: an uncommon tragedy. Journal of Economic Perspectives 8 2 (1994) 133-150
Liebowitz S., and Margolis S. Path dependence, lock-in and history. Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 11 1 (1995) 205-226
Löschel A. Technological change in economic models of environmental policy: a survey. Ecological Economics 43 (2002) 105-126
Maréchal, K., 2000. Economie et environnement: approche méthodologique en matière d'évaluation économique de l'environnement. Unpublished end-of-studies dissertation.
Maréchal, K., Choquette, V., 2006. Politique climatique belge: des engagements internationaux aux circonstances nationales. Courrier Hebdomadaire du CRISP 1915, 46pp.
Maréchal, K., d'Ieteren, E., Hecq, W., 2002. Kyoto implications for Belgium. Final Report, Project "Knowledge of CO2 emissions", Electrabel/SPE.
Mokyr J. The Lever of Riches (1990), Oxford University Press, New York
Mowery D., and Rosenberg N. Paths of Innovation (1998), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Mulder, P., Reschke, C., Kemp, R., 1999. Evolutionary theorizing on technological change and sustainable development. Paper presented at the First European Meeting on Applied Evolutionary Economics, Grenoble, France, 7-9 June.
Mulder P., De Groot H., and Hofkes M. Economic growth and technological change: a comparison of insights from a neo-classical and an evolutionary perspective. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 68 2 (2001) 151-171
Muramatsu R., and Hanoch Y. Emotions as a mechanism for boundedly rational agents: the fast and frugal way. Journal of Economic Psychology 26 2 (2005) 201-221
Nelson R., and Winter S. An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change (1982), Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Nordhaus W. Managing the Global Commons: The Economics of Climate Change (1994), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Perkins, R., 2003. Technological "lock-in. In: Neumayer, E. (Ed.), Internet Encyclopaedia of Ecological Economics. The International Society for Ecological Economics. On-line available: 〈http://www.ecoeco.org/publica/encyc.htm〉.
Porter, E., Van der Linde, C., 1995. Green and competitive: ending the stalemate. Harvard Business Review, September-October, 120-134.
Puffert D. Path dependence in spatial networks: the standardization of railway track gauge. Explorations in Economic History 39 3 (2002) 282-314
Rammel C., and van den Bergh J.C.J.M. Evolutionary policies for sustainable development: adaptive flexibility and risk minimising. Ecological Economics 47 (2003) 121-133
Rosenberg N. Inside the Black Box: Technology and Economics (1982), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Ruttan V. Induced innovation, evolutionary theory and path dependence: sources of technical change. Economic Journal 107 444 (1997) 520-547
Ruttan, V., 2002. Sources of technical change: induced innovation, evolutionary theory and path dependence. In: Grubler, A., Nakicenovic, N., Nordhaus, W. (Eds.), Technological Change and the Environment. Resources for the Future, Washington, DC, pp. 9-39.
Sanden B. Technology path assessment for sustainable technology development. Innovation: Management Policy & Practices 6 2 (2004) 316-330
Sanstad, A., Laitner, J., Koomey, J., 2006. Back To The Future: Long-Range US Energy Price And Quantity Projections In Retrospect. In review.
Schot J., Hoogma R., and Elzen B. Strategies for shifting technological systems: the case of the automobile system. Futures 26 (1994) 1060-1076
Scott P. Path dependence and Britain's "coal wagon problem". Explorations in Economic History 38 3 (2001) 366-385
Shove E. Changing human behaviour and lifestyle: a challenge for sustainable consumption?. In: Ropke I., and Reisch L. (Eds). Consumption-Perspectives from Ecological Economics (2005), Elgar, Cheltenham 111-131
Simon H. Models of Man: Social and Rational (1957), Wiley, New York 279pp
Stiglitz J. Whither Socialism? (1994), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Sutherland R. Market barriers to energy-efficiency investments. The Energy Journal 12 3 (1991) 15-35
Sutherland R. "No cost" efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the US: An economic perspective. The Energy Journal 21 3 (2000) 89-112
Tellus Institute, 1998. Policies and measures to reduce CO2 emissions in the United States: an analysis of options through 2010. A study for World Wildlife Fund, Tellus Institute, Boston, MA, March 1998 (revised version).
The Allen Consulting Group, 2004. Economic impact analysis of improved energy efficiency. Phase 2 report for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Victoria, Australia, April 2004.
Toman M. Values in the economics of climate change. Environmental Values 15 3 (2006) 365-379
Tomasello M. The human adaptation for culture. Annual Review of Anthropology 28 (1999) 509-529
Unruh G. Understanding carbon lock-in. Energy Policy 28 (2000) 817-830
Unruh G. Escaping carbon lock-in. Energy Policy 30 (2002) 317-325
van den Bergh J., and Gowdy J. The microfoundations of macroeconomics: an evolutionary perspective. Cambridge Journal of Economics 27 (2003) 65-84
van den Bergh J., Faber A., Idenburg A., and Oosterhuis F. Survival of the greenest: evolutionary economics and policies for energy innovation. Environmental Sciences 3 1 (2006) 57-71
Varilek, M., Marenzi, N., 2001. Greenhouse gas price scenarios for 2000-2012: impact of different policy regimes. IWOe Discussion Paper No. 96, November 2001.
Veblen T. Why is economics not an evolutionary science?. The Quaterly Journal of Economics 12 4 (1898) 373-397
Veblen T. Imperial Germany and The Industrial Revolution: The Case of England (1915), MacMillan, Londres (Chapter IV)
Walker W. Entrapment in large technical systems: institutional commitment and power relations. Research Policy 29 (2000) 833-846
Weyant, J., et al., 1999. The costs of the Kyoto Protocol: a multi-model evaluation. The Energy Journal, Special issue.
Windrum, P., 1999. Unlocking a lock-in: towards a model of technological succession. MERIT paper, On-line available: 〈http://edata.ub.unimaas.nl/www-edocs/loader/file.asp?id=111〉.
Windrum P., and Birchenhall C. Structural change in the presence of network externalities: a co-evolutionary model of technological successions. Journal of Evolutionary Economics 15 2 (2005) 123-148
Witt U. The Evolving Economy-Essays on the Evolutionary Approach to Economics (2003), Edward Elgar, Cheltenham
Worell E., Laitner J., Ruth M., and Finman H. Productivity benefits of industrial energy efficiency measures. Energy 28 (2003) 1081-1098
Similar publications
Sorry the service is unavailable at the moment. Please try again later.
This website uses cookies to improve user experience. Read more
Save & Close
Accept all
Decline all
Show detailsHide details
Cookie declaration
About cookies
Strictly necessary
Performance
Strictly necessary cookies allow core website functionality such as user login and account management. The website cannot be used properly without strictly necessary cookies.
This cookie is used by Cookie-Script.com service to remember visitor cookie consent preferences. It is necessary for Cookie-Script.com cookie banner to work properly.
Performance cookies are used to see how visitors use the website, eg. analytics cookies. Those cookies cannot be used to directly identify a certain visitor.
Used to store the attribution information, the referrer initially used to visit the website
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. Websites use cookies to help users navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. Cookies that are required for the website to operate properly are allowed to be set without your permission. All other cookies need to be approved before they can be set in the browser.
You can change your consent to cookie usage at any time on our Privacy Policy page.
