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Exchanging Obligations: Accounting for All Forms of Capital

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  • David Blockley

Abstract

Economics and engineering have much in common since both are concerned with making decisions to act, based on evidence from many sources including science. An analysis of financial trading from an engineering-systems perspective leads to a theory of obligations as a means of capturing natural, social and human capital. The treatment is based on an analogy between gravitational and electromagnetic fields of forces and fields of human interactions. An ‘obligation’ is defined as an underived unit of ‘stuff’ analogous to gravitational ‘mass’ or electromagnetic ‘charge’ in a field of interacting processes. Identifying the forces generated in the field of human obligations will help create new policy and practical interventions. These should be designed (as engineers’ design) systems to maximise net worth that includes a wide set of natural and social assets, such as biodiversity, air quality and reduced inequality. JEL: Q50, Q01, E00, E60, O11, O14, C60

Suggested Citation

  • David Blockley, 2023. "Exchanging Obligations: Accounting for All Forms of Capital," Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, , vol. 35(1), pages 7-28, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jinter:v:35:y:2023:i:1:p:7-28
    DOI: 10.1177/02601079221081717
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Macroeconomics; engineering; obligation; natural; social and human capital; field theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • E00 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - General
    • E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • C60 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - General

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