Ecological Economics provides the groundwork for an emerging paradigm in economics that takes into account the increasing scale of human impacts and the inequitable distribution of resources. It is a revolutionary ‘transdiscipline’ that incorporates insights from the biological, physical, and social sciences, and offers a pedagogically complete examination of this exciting new field.

Introducing the three core issues that are the focus of the new transdiscipline—scale, distribution, and efficiency—the volume is guided by the fundamental question: What is really important to us? After explaining the key roles played by the Earth’s biotic and abiotic resources in sustaining life, the text is then organized around the main fields in traditional economics: microeconomics, macroeconomics, and international economics. The volume also considers the policy implications of this line of thinking. Ecological Economics includes numerous features that make it accessible to a wide range of readers: more than thirty text boxes that highlight issues of special importance; lists of key terms that help readers organize the main points in each chapter; concise definitions of new terms that are highlighted in the text for easy reference; questions that encourage exploration beyond the text; and a glossary and list of further readings.

This is the only stand-alone volume that offers a complete explanation of both the theory and practice of ecological economics.