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Unequal exchange is not primarily about monetary value

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  • Alf Hornborg

    (Lund University)

Abstract

Ecologically Unequal Exchange (EUE) theory reframes trade as asymmetric transfers of biophysical resources from South to North, rejecting monetary value metrics. It challenges both mainstream and Marxian economics by emphasizing material flows over money-based interpretations of global inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Alf Hornborg, 2025. "Unequal exchange is not primarily about monetary value," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-3, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-59881-1
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59881-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dorninger, Christian & Hornborg, Alf & Abson, David J. & von Wehrden, Henrik & Schaffartzik, Anke & Giljum, Stefan & Engler, John-Oliver & Feller, Robert L. & Hubacek, Klaus & Wieland, Hanspeter, 2021. "Global patterns of ecologically unequal exchange: Implications for sustainability in the 21st century," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    2. Jason Hickel & Morena Hanbury Lemos & Felix Barbour, 2024. "Unequal exchange of labour in the world economy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Andrea Ricci, 2019. "Unequal Exchange in the Age of Globalization," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 51(2), pages 225-245, June.
    4. Hickel, Jason & Hanbury Lemos, Morena & Barbour, Felix, 2024. "Unequal exchange of labour in the world economy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124543, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Pérez-Sánchez, Laura & Velasco-Fernández, Raúl & Giampietro, Mario, 2021. "The international division of labor and embodied working time in trade for the US, the EU and China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    6. Hornborg, Alf, 1998. "Towards an ecological theory of unequal exchange: articulating world system theory and ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 127-136, April.
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