People naturally simplify the world to make it easier to understand and make decisions. Economists create models that help governments and other economic agents make informed decisions. At which point economic models stop being just models and start defining the way we look at the world? How much economic models with their focus on GDP growth and liberal markets contribute to the problem of climate change and other environmental problems? Do we need to change the economic paradigm to be able to solve these problems? Can pricing of carbon emissions or biodiversity be part of the solution? What is the role of nature in the economic models and how economic profession should evolve to fit better the changing world?
In this episode, I talk with Romain Svartzman, Research Fellow at Bocconi University (Institute for European Policymaking) & Senior Executive Fellow at SDA Bocconi whose research focuses on developing scenarios of ecological transition including relationship to nature, geopolitics of critical metals and reforms of the international monetary and financial system, and assessing their economic and financial implications. We discuss all these questions regarding the development of the economic thinking and the role of nature in the economics. At the end of the episode Romain suggests a list of books on how economists can think better and beyond simple profit maximization paradigm.
(10) Romain Svartzman | LinkedIn
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00:00 Introduction and the Importance of Interdisciplinary Dialogue
04:02 Challenging the Mainstream View of Economics
10:57 Methodological Individualism and a Market-Based View of the World
19:02 The Role of Nature in the Current Economic Paradigm
31:43 Nature as an Externality in Mainstream Economics
33:39 The Limitations of Carbon Pricing
41:13 Towards a Holistic Approach to the Ecological Transition
41:38 Balancing Global and Local Approaches
45:16 The Importance of Systemic and Structural Changes
52:41 The Role of Ecological Economics
59:18 Moving Beyond GDP: Alternative Indicators
01:05:03 Challenges and Opportunities for Young Economists