Energy and the Wealth of Nations

Energy and the Wealth of Nations PDF Author: Charles A.S. Hall
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319662198
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 507

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Book Description
In this updated edition of a groundbreaking text, concepts such as energy return on investment (EROI) provide powerful insights into the real balance sheets that drive our “petroleum economy.” Hall and Klitgaard explore the relation between energy and the wealth explosion of the 20th century, and the interaction of internal limits to growth found in the investment process and rising inequality with the biophysical limits posed by finite energy resources. The authors focus attention on the failure of markets to recognize or efficiently allocate diminishing resources, the economic consequences of peak oil, the high cost and relatively low EROI of finding and exploiting new oil fields, including the much ballyhooed shale plays and oil sands, and whether alternative energy technologies such as wind and solar power can meet the minimum EROI requirements needed to run society as we know it. For the past 150 years, economics has been treated as a social science in which economies are modeled as a circular flow of income between producers and consumers. In this “perpetual motion” of interactions between firms that produce and households that consume, little or no accounting is given of the flow of energy and materials from the environment and back again. In the standard economic model, energy and matter are completely recycled in these transactions, and economic activity is seemingly exempt from the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As we enter the second half of the age of oil, when energy supplies and the environmental impacts of energy production and consumption are likely to constrain economic growth, this exemption should be considered illusory at best. This book is an essential read for all scientists and economists who have recognized the urgent need for a more scientific, empirical, and unified approach to economics in an energy-constrained world, and serves as an ideal teaching text for the growing number of courses, such as the authors’ own, on the role of energy in society.

Energy and the Wealth of Nations

Energy and the Wealth of Nations PDF Author: Charles A.S. Hall
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319662198
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 507

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this updated edition of a groundbreaking text, concepts such as energy return on investment (EROI) provide powerful insights into the real balance sheets that drive our “petroleum economy.” Hall and Klitgaard explore the relation between energy and the wealth explosion of the 20th century, and the interaction of internal limits to growth found in the investment process and rising inequality with the biophysical limits posed by finite energy resources. The authors focus attention on the failure of markets to recognize or efficiently allocate diminishing resources, the economic consequences of peak oil, the high cost and relatively low EROI of finding and exploiting new oil fields, including the much ballyhooed shale plays and oil sands, and whether alternative energy technologies such as wind and solar power can meet the minimum EROI requirements needed to run society as we know it. For the past 150 years, economics has been treated as a social science in which economies are modeled as a circular flow of income between producers and consumers. In this “perpetual motion” of interactions between firms that produce and households that consume, little or no accounting is given of the flow of energy and materials from the environment and back again. In the standard economic model, energy and matter are completely recycled in these transactions, and economic activity is seemingly exempt from the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As we enter the second half of the age of oil, when energy supplies and the environmental impacts of energy production and consumption are likely to constrain economic growth, this exemption should be considered illusory at best. This book is an essential read for all scientists and economists who have recognized the urgent need for a more scientific, empirical, and unified approach to economics in an energy-constrained world, and serves as an ideal teaching text for the growing number of courses, such as the authors’ own, on the role of energy in society.

Energy and the Wealth of Nations

Energy and the Wealth of Nations PDF Author: Charles A. S. Hall
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1441993983
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 410

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Book Description
For the past 150 years, economics has been treated as a social science in which economies are modeled as a circular flow of income between producers and consumers. In this “perpetual motion” of interactions between firms that produce and households that consume, little or no accounting is given of the flow of energy and materials from the environment and back again. In the standard economic model, energy and matter are completely recycled in these transactions, and economic activity is seemingly exempt from the Second Law of Thermodynamics. As we enter the second half of the age of oil, and as energy supplies and the environmental impacts of energy production and consumption become major issues on the world stage, this exemption appears illusory at best. In Energy and the Wealth of Nations, concepts such as energy return on investment (EROI) provide powerful insights into the real balance sheets that drive our “petroleum economy.” Hall and Klitgaard explore the relation between energy and the wealth explosion of the 20th century, the failure of markets to recognize or efficiently allocate diminishing resources, the economic consequences of peak oil, the EROI for finding and exploiting new oil fields, and whether alternative energy technologies such as wind and solar power meet the minimum EROI requirements needed to run our society as we know it. This book is an essential read for all scientists and economists who have recognized the urgent need for a more scientific, unified approach to economics in an energy-constrained world, and serves as an ideal teaching text for the growing number of courses, such as the authors’ own, on the role of energy in society.

A Question of Power

A Question of Power PDF Author: Robert Bryce
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1610397509
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
An acclaimed author and celebrated journalist breaks down the history of electricity and the impact of global energy use on the world and the environment.​ Global demand for power is doubling every two decades, but electricity remains one of the most difficult forms of energy to supply and do so reliably. Today, some three billion people live in places where per-capita electricity use is less than what's used by an average American refrigerator. How we close the colossal gap between the electricity rich and the electricity poor will determine our success in addressing issues like women's rights, inequality, and climate change. In A Question of Power, veteran journalist Robert Bryce tells the human story of electricity, the world's most important form of energy. Through onsite reporting from India, Iceland, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, New York, and Colorado, he shows how our cities, our money--our very lives--depend on reliable flows of electricity. He highlights the factors needed for successful electrification and explains why so many people are still stuck in the dark. With vivid writing and incisive analysis, he powerfully debunks the notion that our energy needs can be met solely with renewables and demonstrates why--if we are serious about addressing climate change--nuclear energy must play a much bigger role. Electricity has fueled a new epoch in the history of civilization. A Question of Power explains how that happened and what it means for our future.

Energy Return on Investment

Energy Return on Investment PDF Author: Charles A.S. Hall
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319478214
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
This authoritative but highly accessible book presents the reader with a powerful framework for understanding the critical role of the energy return on investment (EROI) in the survival and well-being of individuals, ecosystems, businesses, economies and nations. Growth and development are fundamental and ubiquitous processes at all scales, from individuals to food crops to national economies. While we are all familiar with the concepts of economic growth and living standards as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), we often take for granted the energy use that underpins GDP and our expectations for year-on-year growth. In this book, you will learn how these measures of “progress” are completely dependent on the balance that can be achieved between energy costs (inputs) and gains. Nothing is made or moved without an energy surplus, and it is the EROI of available energy sources more than any other single factor that determines the shape of civilization. Nearly all politics and economics assume that policy and market forces are the levers upon which future outcomes will hinge. However, this book presents many examples of historical and current events that can be explained much more clearly from an energetic perspective. In addition, a future scenario is developed that gives a central place to EROI in assessing the potential of governmental and private initiatives to substitute so-called renewable energy sources for diminishing stocks of fossil fuels. When cheap fossil fuels are no longer available in the abundance needed to mask economic problems and power business as usual, it will be EROI more than the plethora of “green” technologies that creates the boundary conditions for a sustainable future.

The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018

The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018 PDF Author: Glenn-Marie Lange
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464810478
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
Countries regularly track gross domestic product (GDP) as an indicator of their economicprogress, but not wealth—the assets such as infrastructure, forests, minerals, and humancapital that produce GDP. In contrast, corporations routinely report on both their income andassets to assess their economic health and prospects for the future. Wealth accounts allowcountries to take stock of their assets to monitor the sustainability of development, an urgentconcern today for all countries.The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018: Building a Sustainable Future covers national wealthfor 141 countries over 20 years (1995–2014) as the sum of produced capital, 19 types ofnatural capital, net foreign assets, and human capital overall as well as by gender and type ofemployment. Great progress has been made in estimating wealth since the fi rst volume, WhereIs the Wealth of Nations? Measuring Capital for the 21st Century, was published in 2006. Newdata substantially improve estimates of natural capital, and, for the fi rst time, human capital ismeasured by using household surveys to estimate lifetime earnings.The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018 begins with a review of global and regional trends inwealth over the past two decades and provides examples of how wealth accounts can be usedfor the analysis of development patterns. Several chapters discuss the new work on humancapital and its application in development policy. The book then tackles elements of naturalcapital that are not yet fully incorporated in the wealth accounts: air pollution, marine fi sheries,and ecosystems.This book targets policy makers but will engage anyone committed to building a sustainablefuture for the planet.

The Real Wealth of Nations

The Real Wealth of Nations PDF Author: Riane Eisler
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
ISBN: 1576755142
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Bestselling author Riane Eisler (The Chalice and the Blade, which has sold more than 500,000 copies sold) shows that at the root of all of society's big problems is the fact that we don't value what matters. She then presents a radical reformulation of economics priorities focused on the home.

The Hidden Wealth of Nations

The Hidden Wealth of Nations PDF Author: David Halpern
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745656277
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
Richer nations are happier, yet economic growth doesn't increase happiness. This paradox is explained by the Hidden Wealth of Nations - the extent to which citizens get along with other independently drives both economic growth and well-being. Much of this hidden wealth is expressed in everyday ways, such as our common values, the way we look after our children and elderly, or whether we trust and help strangers. It is a hidden dimension of inequality, and helps to explain why governments have found it so hard to reduce gaps in society. There are also deep cracks in this hidden wealth, in the form of our rising fears of crime, immigration and terror. Using a rich variety of international comparisons and new analysis, the book explores what is happening in contemporary societies from value change to the changing role of governments, and offers suggestions about what policymakers and citizens can do about it.

Where is the Wealth of Nations?

Where is the Wealth of Nations? PDF Author:
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821363557
Category : Ahorro e inversión - Modelos econométricos
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
The book presents estimates of total wealth for nearly 120 countries, using economic theory to decompose the wealth of a nation into its component pieces: produced capital, natural resources and human resources. The wealth estimates provide a unique opportunity to look at economic management from a broader and comprehensive perspective. The book's basic tenet is that economic development can be conceived as a process of portfolio management, so that sustainability becomes an integral part of economic policy making. The rigorous analysis, presented in accessible format, tackles issues such as g.

Economics of Good and Evil

Economics of Good and Evil PDF Author: Tomas Sedlacek
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199831904
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 366

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Book Description
Tomas Sedlacek has shaken the study of economics as few ever have. Named one of the "Young Guns" and one of the "five hot minds in economics" by the Yale Economic Review, he serves on the National Economic Council in Prague, where his provocative writing has achieved bestseller status. How has he done it? By arguing a simple, almost heretical proposition: economics is ultimately about good and evil. In The Economics of Good and Evil, Sedlacek radically rethinks his field, challenging our assumptions about the world. Economics is touted as a science, a value-free mathematical inquiry, he writes, but it's actually a cultural phenomenon, a product of our civilization. It began within philosophy--Adam Smith himself not only wrote The Wealth of Nations, but also The Theory of Moral Sentiments--and economics, as Sedlacek shows, is woven out of history, myth, religion, and ethics. "Even the most sophisticated mathematical model," Sedlacek writes, "is, de facto, a story, a parable, our effort to (rationally) grasp the world around us." Economics not only describes the world, but establishes normative standards, identifying ideal conditions. Science, he claims, is a system of beliefs to which we are committed. To grasp the beliefs underlying economics, he breaks out of the field's confines with a tour de force exploration of economic thinking, broadly defined, over the millennia. He ranges from the epic of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament to the emergence of Christianity, from Descartes and Adam Smith to the consumerism in Fight Club. Throughout, he asks searching meta-economic questions: What is the meaning and the point of economics? Can we do ethically all that we can do technically? Does it pay to be good? Placing the wisdom of philosophers and poets over strict mathematical models of human behavior, Sedlacek's groundbreaking work promises to change the way we calculate economic value.

The Nature of Money

The Nature of Money PDF Author: Geoffrey Ingham
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745638031
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
In this important new book, Geoffrey Ingham draws on neglected traditions in the social sciences to develop a theory of the ‘social relation’ of money. Genuinely multidisciplinary approach, based on a thorough knowledge of theories of money in the social sciences An original development of the neglected heterodox theories of money New histories of the origins and development of forms of money and their social relations of production in different monetary systems A radical interpretation of capitalism as a particular type of monetary system and the first sociological outline of the institutional structure of the social production of capitalist money A radical critique of recent writing on global e-money, the so-called ‘end of money’, and new monetary spaces such as the euro.