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Unifying Studies of Scarcity, Abundance, and Sufficiency

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  • Daoud, Adel

Abstract

This paper advances the idea that socio-ecological inquiry could benefit more by analyzing the dynamics between states of scarcity, abundance, and sufficiency (SAS), instead of viewing them as distinct branches of inquiry. The paper identifies three weaknesses in the literature: postulating scarcity, normative opposition of SAS, and conceptual entanglement. In bridging these, the paper proposes a unified agenda for SAS studies. This agenda includes: (a) a definition of the cases (population) of SAS; (b) a causal map of the determinants of SAS; (c) an outline of key strategies individuals employ to handle SAS. This agenda relies on the language of probability to systematize SAS studies. This approach subsumes the allocation problem of neoclassical economics within a super-set of problems. Recalibrating socio-ecological inquiry to research the dynamics of scarcity, abundance, and sufficiency will not only cast new light on old problems, but also discover new problems that traditionally have been reserved for neoclassical economics.

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  • Daoud, Adel, 2018. "Unifying Studies of Scarcity, Abundance, and Sufficiency," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 208-217.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:147:y:2018:i:c:p:208-217
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.01.019
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    Cited by:

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    2. Luqman, Muhammad & Antonakakis, Nikolaos, 2021. "Guns better than butter in Pakistan? The dilemma of military expenditure, human development, and economic growth," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    3. Jonas B{aa}{aa}th & Adel Daoud, 2020. "Extending Social Resource Exchange to Events of Abundance and Sufficiency," Papers 2010.02658, arXiv.org.
    4. O'Sullivan, Jane N., 2020. "The social and environmental influences of population growth rate and demographic pressure deserve greater attention in ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    5. Adam Coutts & Adel Daoud & Ali Fakih & Walid Marrouch & Bernhard Reinsberg, 2019. "Guns and butter? Military expenditure and health spending on the eve of the Arab Spring," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 227-237, February.
    6. Plomteux, Adrien, 2024. "Frugal abundance: Conceptualisation for degrowth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    7. Adel Daoud, 2021. "The International Monetary Funds intervention in education systems and its impact on childrens chances of completing school," Papers 2201.00013, arXiv.org.
    8. Mathias Zannakis & Sverker Molander & Lars-Olof Johansson, 2019. "On the Relationship between Pro-Environmental Behavior, Experienced Monetary Costs, and Psychological Gains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-14, October.
    9. Spangenberg, Joachim H. & Lorek, Sylvia, 2019. "Sufficiency and consumer behaviour: From theory to policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 1070-1079.
    10. Sourabh Balgi & Jose M. Pe~na & Adel Daoud, 2022. "Counterfactual Analysis of the Impact of the IMF Program on Child Poverty in the Global-South Region using Causal-Graphical Normalizing Flows," Papers 2202.09391, arXiv.org.
    11. Daoud, Adel, 2021. "The International Monetary Fund’s intervention in education systems and its impact on children’s chances of completing school," SocArXiv kbc34, Center for Open Science.
    12. Daoud, Adel & Reinsberg, Bernhard & Kentikelenis, Alexander E. & Stubbs, Thomas H. & King, Lawrence P., 2019. "The International Monetary Fund’s interventions in food and agriculture: An analysis of loans and conditions," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 204-218.
    13. Xiaojie Wang & Yi Duan & Pengcheng Liu & Guixin Han, 2020. "The Influence of Housing Investment on Urban Innovation: An Empirical Analysis Based on City-Level Panel Data in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-15, April.
    14. Adel Daoud & Felipe Jordán & Makkunda Sharma & Fredrik Johansson & Devdatt Dubhashi & Sourabh Paul & Subhashis Banerjee, 2023. "Using Satellite Images and Deep Learning to Measure Health and Living Standards in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 475-505, June.
    15. Nick Harkiolakis, 2023. "The Cycle of Value The Cycle of Value -- A Conservationist Approach to Economics," Papers 2308.07185, arXiv.org.
    16. Daoud, Adel & Herlitz, Anders & Subramanian, S.V., 2022. "IMF fairness: Calibrating the policies of the International Monetary Fund based on distributive justice," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).

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