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On the Coevolution of Economic and Ecological Systems

Author

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  • Simon Levin

    (Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA)

  • Anastasios Xepapadeas

    (Department of International and European Studies, Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens 104 34, Greece)

Abstract

This review provides a description of common and distinct characteristics of economic and ecological systems; examples of the ways in which these characteristics can be incorporated into models adequately describing the coevolution of the two-component systems to produce a unified ecological-economic system in time, space, and appropriate scale; and a discussion of policy design when the policy maker takes into account this coevolution, along with potential biases when the coevolution is ignored. We propose the development of integrated assessment models of the coevolving systems that will embody the variety of common and distinct characteristics identified in this survey. We expect that such an approach will provide useful insights into the efficient management of coevolving ecological-economic systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Levin & Anastasios Xepapadeas, 2021. "On the Coevolution of Economic and Ecological Systems," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 13(1), pages 355-377, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:anr:reseco:v:13:y:2021:p:355-377
    DOI: 10.1146/annurev-resource-103020-083100
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    Cited by:

    1. Barfuss, Wolfram & Donges, Jonathan & Bethge, Matthias, 2024. "Ecologically-mediated collective action in commons with tipping elements," OSF Preprints 7pcnm_v1, Center for Open Science.
    2. Fausto Cavalli & Ahmad Naimzada & Enrico Moretto, 2023. "Dynamical analysis of evolutionary transition toward sustainable technologies," Working Papers 510, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics.
    3. Barfuss, Wolfram & Donges, Jonathan & Bethge, Matthias, 2024. "Ecologically-mediated collective action in commons with tipping elements," OSF Preprints 7pcnm, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    ecological-economic systems; coevolution; space; scale; heterogeneity; uncertainty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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