brilliant answers

ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 6

Amanda,

There are some good ideas in this paper, and this paper is much better than the first submission of paper 1. You have a very good review of Daly, and suggest how Daly’s ideas are generally similar Dietz and to Frank. But you could identify more specific similarities. For example, which proposal from Dietz is similar to Daly’s idea of increasing ultimate efficiency? Which idea from Frank is similar to Daly’s idea of relative wants? Also, you could say more about Frank’s idea of externalities from consumption choices. See other comments in text below. Minor English problems are highlighted in yellow or noted in comments.

Score first submission: 21/25

Late: -2, 19/25

Amanda Medina

Prof. Dave Timmons

ECON 214 - Paper 2

A steady-state economy is an economy that consists of constant stock of capital and a steady size of the population. Daly's study on a steady-state economy consists of the analysis of the ecology of the flow of the natural resources through the economy. Daly recommends for the political actions for the economy of any given state to be steady. He advocates for permanent restriction on the use of resources (Herman, 1974). Comment by David S Timmons: of Comment by David S Timmons: Unclear what steady political actions are. Comment by David S Timmons: Last name: Daly

The growth of the economy is associated with an increase in the production as well as the consumption of the services and goods. The growth in the economy is improved by the population growth, the increment in the per capita consumption, and the gains in the productivity as shown by the state growth domestic products. Regarding the issue of social implication in the economic growth, inequalities remain a major concern. Many people live in poverty despite some nations realizing growth in the national economy. It is of importance to understand the ecological and social problems that are associated with the economic growth. Through the study of social and environmental factors, economic growth, reproduction, and surplus investment can be made (Herman, 1974). Comment by David S Timmons: or at least increased Comment by David S Timmons: of Comment by David S Timmons: Incomplete and unclear sentence.

This paper, therefore, seeks to discuss how the approaches and perspectives described by Dietz and Frank or Schor affect the prospects for consumption patterns consistent with Daly's steady-state economy. The paper looks at what Dietz, Frank, and Schor talks about regarding the means of attaining a steady-state level of consumption.

According to Daly, constant capital is similar to the concept of stable state just it is applied in the economic. The second concept which is the natural flow of the natural resources which is an ecological term implemented in the ecological economics. The durability of these two stocks i.e. the capital and the natural resources have to be maximized. He stated that the more the durable the stocked capital is, the smaller the ratio in the flow of the natural resources for the maintenance of the stock. This is in similarity with the durable population whereby the population enjoys a higher expectancy of life with a lower rate of birth as well as reduced death rate. Concerning the ecological concept, there should be a reduction in the consumption of the non-renewable resources to minimize the emission of the carbon dioxide that causes global warming. Therefore, there should be a restriction regarding the utilization or consumption of the natural resources (Herman, 1974). Comment by David S Timmons: steady Comment by David S Timmons: economic what? (economic is an adjective, and needs to be followed by a noun). Comment by David S Timmons: Incomplete sentence (needs a verb). Comment by David S Timmons: Yes, this is an important point. Comment by David S Timmons: Who? Comment by David S Timmons: capital stock Comment by David S Timmons: stable?

Based on the concept of Daly, steady state economy relies on the vision that economy is an open subsystem which is embedded in a finite natural environment with scarce resources as well as the fragile ecosystem. Maintenance of the economy is through importation of the natural resources that are valuable from the input end while exporting the waste that is valueless and pollution in the output end in a stable and irreversible flow (Herman, 1974). Comment by David S Timmons: the Comment by David S Timmons: the

An increase in the population and the consumption per capita, leads to the increase in the scarcity of the resources thus resulting in other external costs. The subsystem of the finite non-growing system can also be a non-growing while it starts maintaining itself within a steady-state economy. Daly recommends that creation of a steady-state needs correction of the inequality through minimizing as well as maximizing the limits of the economy, wealth maximization and redistributing economy and wealth accordingly. The second recommendation is to make the population stable through an issuance of the transferable license of reproduction to all the fertile women and lastly, is to stabilize the level of capital through issuance and selling of the depleting quotas that restricts the flow of the resources (Herman, 1974). Comment by David S Timmons: no comma Comment by David S Timmons: Unclear. Comment by David S Timmons: Daly does discuss this, but it’s not necessarily relevant to consumption issues, which should be the main focus of this paper.

Enough is enough by Dietz and O'Neil is a good and the key beginning point for the people willing to find the solutions on how consumptions affects the economy of the state. It is a way of addressing the claim that perpetual growth is desirable and possible. In their argument, Dietz and O'Neill are trying to fill the gap that was left by Daly for not providing the alternative approaches while making sure that there is steady-state economy so that it can be a reality. In the first part of their book, they discuss the reason why it is not possible for continuous growth to occur hence need for a change. They illustrate some figures to support their argument as they also introduce the basics of the steady economy of any given state (Dietz, 2013). Comment by David S Timmons: Good observation. Comment by David S Timmons: comma Comment by David S Timmons: the

According to them, three items must be stationery in any steady-state economy. These include the number of the citizens or people, the stock of the artifacts also known as the capital, and the quantity of the energy as well as the material that flows through the economy. Other features that must be taken into account for a steady-state economy to be seen are the sustainable scale, efficient allocation of the resources, equal distribution of the resources available, and providing a high quality of life to the people. Comment by David S Timmons: Yes.

There is an agreement with the concept of Daly on the idea of a steady-state economy. They accept Daly's argument regarding the insightful critiques of the economic growth for being an idea of practice because Daly illustrated the alternative approaches in organizing the steady-state economy. However, they did not argue that Daly's concepts lack the proposals as well as the transitional strategies (Dietz, 2013). Dietz, O'Neill, and Daly are of the same opinion that efficient allocation of the resources, equal distribution of the available resource, provision of high quality of life to the people, total population of that particular nation, and enough stock of capital are the primary determiners whether the state is stable economically or not. Comment by David S Timmons: Hard to follow; reword.

However, continuous growth does not lead to happiness or well-being. Due to the limited amount of the non-renewable resources, there must be a reduction in the consumption to cut down the level of carbon dioxide. This will result in the preservation of the natural resources through a reduction in the global warming caused by the emission of the carbon dioxide. People must, therefore, be restricted from misusing the resources to ensure there is a steady-state economy. Comment by David S Timmons: and resource depletion in general

According to Frank, "Luxury Fever" has gripped modern America and it has features like grander, expensive goods, and flashier that ranges from the backyard grounds to automobiles to the mega homes (Frank, 1999). He noticed that this lifestyle was common among the wealthy and other consumers that had less income resulting from lower rates of savings as well as the growth in the debts (Frank, 1999). According to him "altered environment where the expectations on the consumptions of the individuals or a gift to another person are the resulting product of the extravagant and wasteful spending of the economically stable individuals and the availability if the wasteful priced products." To diminish the impact of the country's flushed state. He recommended that there should be a tax exemption of the savings and the state with improved tax consumption (Frank, 1999). Comment by David S Timmons: flashier what? Comment by David S Timmons: Confusing sentence. I think you are trying to make two points here, so you should put them in two sentences. Comment by David S Timmons: Who? Comment by David S Timmons: Incomplete sentence. Comment by David S Timmons: This part of the sentence is unclear. Explain what Frank’s proposal would accomplish.

The case of Frank is similar to that of Daly. The economy of the state is built on the relationship that exists between the production and consumption. At the same time, goods and services are exchanged for money and credit and should not exceed the debts. The increase production of the products by the private sectors with limited production by the government results into scarcity of resources due to inadequate regulation and non-taxation. According to Daly, stabilization of the population is through making capital to be more stable by issuing the license that depletes quotas restricting the flow of the resources (Herman, 1974). When the population is not stable regarding capital due to more borrowing than income, there is likelihood that that nation would not be steady economically. Debts of the population should not exceed the total resources or total capital income. Comment by David S Timmons: in Comment by David S Timmons: Unclear. Comment by David S Timmons: A conclusing paragraph would be good here. Comment by David S Timmons: Provide full reference information. For this paper you can again just copy from the syllabus. For paper 3 you will need to keep track of where references are from.

References

Dietz, R. (2013). Building A Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources. Chapter 12 in Enough is Enough, 1-165.

Frank, R. H. (1999). "Money Well Spent?". . Chapter 1 in Luxury Fever: why money fails to satisfy in an era of excess., 1-13.

Herman, E. (1974). The World Dynamics of Economic Growth: The Economics of the State. American Economic Association, 76, 392-406.