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Ethics and the economist: What climate change demands of us

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  • Nelson, J.A.

Abstract

Climate change is changing not only our physical world, but also our intellectual, social, and moral worlds. We are realizing that our situation is profoundly unsafe, interdependent, and uncertain. What, then, does climate change demand of economists, as human beings and as professionals? A discipline of economics based on Enlightenment notions of mechanism and disembodied rationality is not suited to present problems. This essay suggests three major requirements: first, that we take action; second, that we work together; and third, that we focus on avoiding the worst, rather than obtaining the optimal. The essay concludes with suggestions of specific steps that economists should take as researchers, teachers, and in our other roles.

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  • Nelson, J.A., 2013. "Ethics and the economist: What climate change demands of us," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 145-154.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:85:y:2013:i:c:p:145-154
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.07.029
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    Cited by:

    1. Julie A. Nelson, 2012. "Poisoning the Well, or How Economic Theory Damages Moral Imagination," GDAE Working Papers 12-07, GDAE, Tufts University.
    2. Sarah-Louise Ruder & Sophia Rose Sanniti, 2019. "Transcending the Learned Ignorance of Predatory Ontologies: A Research Agenda for an Ecofeminist-Informed Ecological Economics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-29, March.
    3. Timothy A. Wise, 2012. "The Cost to Mexico of U.S. Corn Ethanol Expansion," GDAE Working Papers 12-01, GDAE, Tufts University.
    4. John M. Gowdy, 2013. "Valuing nature for climate change policy: from discounting the future to truly social deliberation," Chapters, in: Roger Fouquet (ed.), Handbook on Energy and Climate Change, chapter 25, pages 547-560, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Julie A. Nelson, 2011. "Would Women Leaders Have Prevented the Global Financial Crisis? Implications for Teaching about Gender, Behavior, and Economics," GDAE Working Papers 11-03, GDAE, Tufts University.
    6. Nelson, Julie A., 2012. "Poisoning the Well, or How Economic Theory Damages Moral Imagination," Working Papers 179107, Tufts University, Global Development and Environment Institute.
    7. Toman, Michael, 2014. "The need for multiple types of information to inform climate change assessment," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 469-485, December.
    8. Fernández, Antonio Turrent & Wise, Timothy A. & Garvey, Elise, 2012. "Achieving Mexico’s Maize Potential," Working Papers 179101, Tufts University, Global Development and Environment Institute.
    9. Nelson, Julie A., 2012. "Is Dismissing the Precautionary Principle the Manly Thing to Do? Gender and the Economics of Climate Change," Working Papers 179102, Tufts University, Global Development and Environment Institute.
    10. Maria S. Floro, 2012. "The Crises of Environment and Social Reproduction: Understanding their Linkages," Working Papers 2012-04, American University, Department of Economics.
    11. Mohammad M. Khabbazan, 2022. "Cost-Risk Analysis Reconsidered—Value of Information on the Climate Sensitivity in the Integrated Assessment Model PRICE," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-17, June.
    12. Valentinov, Vladislav, 2014. "K. William Kapp's theory of social costs: A Luhmannian interpretation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 28-33.
    13. Julie A. Nelson, 2012. "Are Women Really More Risk-Averse than Men?," GDAE Working Papers 12-05, GDAE, Tufts University.
    14. Mukashov, Askar & Henning, Christian H. C. A. & Robertson, Richard & Wiebelt, Manfred, 2021. "The role of Global Climate Change in structural transformation of Sub-Saharan Africa: Case study of Senegal," Kiel Working Papers 2187, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    15. Mercedes Varela-Losada & Pedro Vega-Marcote & María Lorenzo-Rial & Uxío Pérez-Rodríguez, 2021. "The Challenge of Global Environmental Change: Attitudinal Trends in Teachers-In-Training," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, January.
    16. Valentin Cojanu, 2021. "The value of sacrifice in (post-)growth scenarios," Post-Print hal-03384636, HAL.
    17. Spencer, Phoebe & Perkins, Patricia E. & Erickson, Jon D., 2018. "Re-establishing Justice as a Pillar of Ecological Economics Through Feminist Perspectives," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 191-198.
    18. Delf Neubersch & Hermann Held & Alexander Otto, 2014. "Operationalizing climate targets under learning: An application of cost-risk analysis," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 305-318, October.
    19. Roth, Robert & Neubersch, Delf & Held, Hermann, 2020. "Evaluating Delayed Climate Policy by Cost-Risk Analysis," WiSo-HH Working Paper Series 53, University of Hamburg, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, WISO Research Laboratory.
    20. Antonio Turrent Fernández & Timothy A. Wise & Elise Garvey, 2012. "Achieving Mexico’s Maize Potential," GDAE Working Papers 12-03, GDAE, Tufts University.

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