Mainstream economics
Encyclopedia
Mainstream economics is a loose term used to refer to widely-accepted economics as taught in prominent universities and in contrast to heterodox economics
. It has been associated with neoclassical economics
and with the neoclassical synthesis
, which combines neoclassical methods and Keynesian approach
macroeconomics.
are the "saltwater and freshwater schools." The saltwater schools consist of the universities and other institutions located near the east and west coast of the United States
, such as Berkeley
, Harvard, MIT, University of Pennsylvania
, Princeton
, Columbia
, Duke
, Stanford, and Yale
. Freshwater schools include the University of Chicago
, Carnegie Mellon University
, the University of Rochester
, and the University of Minnesota
. They were referred to as the 'freshwater school' since Pittsburgh, Chicago, Rochester, and Minneapolis are located nearer to the Great Lakes
. The Saltwater school is associated with Keynesian ideas of government intervention into the free market, while the Freshwater schools are skeptical of the benefits of the government. Mainstream economists do not, in general, identify themselves as members of a particular school; they may, however, be associated with approaches within a field such as the rational-expectations
approach to macroeconomics
.
era, particularly in the Anglosphere
, and to a lesser extent globally.
Prior to the development of modern academic economics, the dominant school in Europe was mercantilism
, which was rather a loose set of related ideas than an institutionalized school. With the development of modern economics, conventionally given as the late 18th-century The Wealth of Nations
by Adam Smith
, British economics developed and became dominated by what is now called the classical school
. From The Wealth of Nations until the Great Depression
, the dominant school within the Anglosphere was classical economics, and its successor, neoclassical economics
.
In continental Europe, the earlier work of the physiocrats
in France formed a distinct tradition, as did the later work of the historical school of economics
in Germany, and throughout the 19th century there were debates in British economics, most notably the opposition underconsumptionist school.
During the Great Depression and the following Second World War, the school of Keynesian economics
gained prominence, which built on the work of the underconsumptionist school, and present-day mainstream economics stems from the neoclassical synthesis
, which was the post–World War II merger of Keynesian macroeconomics and neoclassical microeconomics.
In continental Europe, by contrast, Keynesian economics was rejected, with German thought dominated by the Freiburg school
, whose political philosophy of ordoliberalism
formed the intellectual basis of Germany's post-war social market economy
.
Within developing economies, which formed the majority of the world's population, various schools of development economics
have been influential.
Since 2007, the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and the ensuing global economic crisis has publicly exposed divisions within mainstream economics and significantly intensified controversy about its status, with some arguing for radical overhaul or rejection of mainstream economics, others arguing for evolutionary change, and others still arguing that mainstream economics explains the crisis.
of 1948, by Samuelson
and Nordhaus, on the inside back cover in the "Family Tree of Economics," which depicts arrows into it from J.M. Keynes (1936) and neoclassical economics
(1860–1910). The term "neoclassical synthesis
" itself also appears in Samuelson's influential textbook, in the 1955 edition.
, a representative agent
, and, often, rational expectations
. The methodology employed by mainstream economics is the deductive methodology, which starts with axioms (that do not have to be proven, as they are classified as 'known to be true'), such as the rationality of individuals and their sole aim of maximising their own personal benefit (utility maximisation). To these axioms, assumptions are added, such as perfect and symmetric information, complete markets, perfect competition and zero transaction costs. Based on such axioms and assumptions, basic concepts, such as market equilibrium, are postulated, which are only relevant when all or most assumptions hold.
, optimization
, and comparative statics
. Under this definition, areas of thought which are typically thought of as heterodox because they do not work under the typical neoclassical assumptions, such as econophysics
, behavioral economics, and evolutionary economics
, can be considered mainstream when they are engaged in the mainstream, using mainstream methods. Geoffrey Hodgson
has considered the possibility that evolutionary economics and institutional economics
may eventually become a new mainstream.
Additionally, some economic fields include elements of both mainstream economics and heterodox economics
: for example, the Austrian economics
, institutional economics
, neuroeconomics
and non-linear complexity theory
.
They may use neoclassical economics as a point of departure. At least one institutionalist has argued that "neoclassical economics no longer dominates a mainstream economics."
A countervailing trend is the expansion of mainstream methods to such seemingly distant fields as crime
the family, law
, politics, and religion.
The latter phenomenon is sometimes referred to as economic imperialism.
and government failure
and private and public good
s. These developments suggest a range of views on the desirability or otherwise of government intervention.
Chartalists
, who are generally considered part of the Post-Keynesian school of thought, criticise mainstream theory as failing to describe the actual mechanics of modern fiat monetary economies. Chartalism focuses on a detailed understanding of the way money actually flows through the different sectors of an economy. Specifically, Chartalism focuses on the interaction between central banks, treasury and the private banking system. Chartalism rejects critical mainstream theories such as the loanable funds market, the money multiplier
, and the utility of fiscal austerity.
Some economists, in the vein of ecological economics
, believe that the neoclassical "holy trinity" of rationality, greed, and equilibrium, is being replaced by the holy trinity of purposeful behavior, enlightened self-interest
, and sustainability, considerably broadening the scope of what is mainstream. Ecological economics
addresses sustainability
issues, such as public good
s, natural capital
and negative externalities (such as pollution).
Alternative economic schools, such as the Austrian School
, also present views that contradict current mainstream economic theory regarding how the modern economy actually works.
Energy
related theories of economic concepts also exist within energy economics
relating to thermodynamic concepts of economic thinking, such as Energy accounting
. Biophysical economics relates to this area.
Heterodox economics
"Heterodox economics" refers to approaches or to schools of economic thought that are considered outside of "mainstream economics". Mainstream economists sometimes assert that it has little or no influence on the vast majority of academic economists in the English speaking world. "Mainstream...
. It has been associated with neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics is a term variously used for approaches to economics focusing on the determination of prices, outputs, and income distributions in markets through supply and demand, often mediated through a hypothesized maximization of utility by income-constrained individuals and of profits...
and with the neoclassical synthesis
Neoclassical synthesis
Neoclassical synthesis is a postwar academic movement in economics that attempts to absorb the macroeconomic thought of John Maynard Keynes into the thought of neoclassical economics...
, which combines neoclassical methods and Keynesian approach
Keynesian economics
Keynesian economics is a school of macroeconomic thought based on the ideas of 20th-century English economist John Maynard Keynes.Keynesian economics argues that private sector decisions sometimes lead to inefficient macroeconomic outcomes and, therefore, advocates active policy responses by the...
macroeconomics.
In the US
Mainstream economists are not generally separated into schools, but two major contemporary orthodox economic schools of thoughtSchools of economics
Schools of economic thought describes the variety of approaches in the history of economic theory noteworthy enough to be described as a 'school of thought'. While economists do not always fit into particular schools, particularly in modern times, classifying economists into schools of thought is...
are the "saltwater and freshwater schools." The saltwater schools consist of the universities and other institutions located near the east and west coast of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, such as Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, Harvard, MIT, University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, Stanford, and Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
. Freshwater schools include the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
, and the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. They were referred to as the 'freshwater school' since Pittsburgh, Chicago, Rochester, and Minneapolis are located nearer to the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. The Saltwater school is associated with Keynesian ideas of government intervention into the free market, while the Freshwater schools are skeptical of the benefits of the government. Mainstream economists do not, in general, identify themselves as members of a particular school; they may, however, be associated with approaches within a field such as the rational-expectations
Rational expectations
Rational expectations is a hypothesis in economics which states that agents' predictions of the future value of economically relevant variables are not systematically wrong in that all errors are random. An alternative formulation is that rational expectations are model-consistent expectations, in...
approach to macroeconomics
Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics is a branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of the whole economy. This includes a national, regional, or global economy...
.
History
Economics has, in modern times, always featured multiple schools of economic thought, with different schools having different prominence across countries and over time; the current use of the term "mainstream economics" is specific to the post–World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era, particularly in the Anglosphere
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
, and to a lesser extent globally.
Prior to the development of modern academic economics, the dominant school in Europe was mercantilism
Mercantilism
Mercantilism is the economic doctrine in which government control of foreign trade is of paramount importance for ensuring the prosperity and security of the state. In particular, it demands a positive balance of trade. Mercantilism dominated Western European economic policy and discourse from...
, which was rather a loose set of related ideas than an institutionalized school. With the development of modern economics, conventionally given as the late 18th-century The Wealth of Nations
The Wealth of Nations
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, generally referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations, is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith...
by Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
, British economics developed and became dominated by what is now called the classical school
Classical economics
Classical economics is widely regarded as the first modern school of economic thought. Its major developers include Adam Smith, Jean-Baptiste Say, David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus and John Stuart Mill....
. From The Wealth of Nations until the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the dominant school within the Anglosphere was classical economics, and its successor, neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics is a term variously used for approaches to economics focusing on the determination of prices, outputs, and income distributions in markets through supply and demand, often mediated through a hypothesized maximization of utility by income-constrained individuals and of profits...
.
In continental Europe, the earlier work of the physiocrats
Physiocrats
Physiocracy is an economic theory developed by the Physiocrats, a group of economists who believed that the wealth of nations was derived solely from the value of "land agriculture" or "land development." Their theories originated in France and were most popular during the second half of the 18th...
in France formed a distinct tradition, as did the later work of the historical school of economics
Historical school of economics
The Historical school of economics was an approach to academic economics and to public administration that emerged in 19th century in Germany, and held sway there until well into the 20th century....
in Germany, and throughout the 19th century there were debates in British economics, most notably the opposition underconsumptionist school.
During the Great Depression and the following Second World War, the school of Keynesian economics
Keynesian economics
Keynesian economics is a school of macroeconomic thought based on the ideas of 20th-century English economist John Maynard Keynes.Keynesian economics argues that private sector decisions sometimes lead to inefficient macroeconomic outcomes and, therefore, advocates active policy responses by the...
gained prominence, which built on the work of the underconsumptionist school, and present-day mainstream economics stems from the neoclassical synthesis
Neoclassical synthesis
Neoclassical synthesis is a postwar academic movement in economics that attempts to absorb the macroeconomic thought of John Maynard Keynes into the thought of neoclassical economics...
, which was the post–World War II merger of Keynesian macroeconomics and neoclassical microeconomics.
In continental Europe, by contrast, Keynesian economics was rejected, with German thought dominated by the Freiburg school
Freiburg School
The Freiburg School is a school of economic thought founded in the 1930s at the University of Freiburg.It builds somewhat on the earlier Historical school of economics but stresses that only some forms of competition are good, while others may require oversight. This is considered a lawful and...
, whose political philosophy of ordoliberalism
Ordoliberalism
Ordoliberalism is a school of liberalism that emphasised the need for the state to ensure that the free market produces results close to its theoretical potential . The theory was developed by German economists and legal scholars such as Walter Eucken, Franz Böhm, Hans Grossmann-Doerth and Leonhard...
formed the intellectual basis of Germany's post-war social market economy
Social market economy
The social market economy is the main economic model used in West Germany after World War II. It is based on the economic philosophy of Ordoliberalism from the Freiburg School...
.
Within developing economies, which formed the majority of the world's population, various schools of development economics
Development economics
Development Economics is a branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low-income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic growth and structural change but also on improving the potential for the mass of the population, for example,...
have been influential.
Since 2007, the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and the ensuing global economic crisis has publicly exposed divisions within mainstream economics and significantly intensified controversy about its status, with some arguing for radical overhaul or rejection of mainstream economics, others arguing for evolutionary change, and others still arguing that mainstream economics explains the crisis.
Term
The term "mainstream economics" came into common use in the late 20th century. It appears in the seminal textbook EconomicsEconomics (textbook)
Economics is an influential introductory textbook by American economists Paul Samuelson and William Nordhaus. It was first published in 1948, and has appeared in nineteen different editions, the most recent in 2010. It was the best selling economics textbook for many decades and still remains...
of 1948, by Samuelson
Paul Samuelson
Paul Anthony Samuelson was an American economist, and the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. The Swedish Royal Academies stated, when awarding the prize, that he "has done more than any other contemporary economist to raise the level of scientific analysis in...
and Nordhaus, on the inside back cover in the "Family Tree of Economics," which depicts arrows into it from J.M. Keynes (1936) and neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics is a term variously used for approaches to economics focusing on the determination of prices, outputs, and income distributions in markets through supply and demand, often mediated through a hypothesized maximization of utility by income-constrained individuals and of profits...
(1860–1910). The term "neoclassical synthesis
Neoclassical synthesis
Neoclassical synthesis is a postwar academic movement in economics that attempts to absorb the macroeconomic thought of John Maynard Keynes into the thought of neoclassical economics...
" itself also appears in Samuelson's influential textbook, in the 1955 edition.
Scope
Mainstream economics can be defined, as distinct from other schools of economics, by various criteria, notably by its assumptions, its methods, and its topics.Assumptions
A number of assumptions underpin mainstream economics, while being rejected by some heterodox schools. These include the neoclassical assumptions of rational choice theoryRational choice theory
Rational choice theory, also known as choice theory or rational action theory, is a framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior. It is the main theoretical paradigm in the currently-dominant school of microeconomics...
, a representative agent
Representative agent
Economists use the term representative agent to refer to the typical decision-maker of a certain type ....
, and, often, rational expectations
Rational expectations
Rational expectations is a hypothesis in economics which states that agents' predictions of the future value of economically relevant variables are not systematically wrong in that all errors are random. An alternative formulation is that rational expectations are model-consistent expectations, in...
. The methodology employed by mainstream economics is the deductive methodology, which starts with axioms (that do not have to be proven, as they are classified as 'known to be true'), such as the rationality of individuals and their sole aim of maximising their own personal benefit (utility maximisation). To these axioms, assumptions are added, such as perfect and symmetric information, complete markets, perfect competition and zero transaction costs. Based on such axioms and assumptions, basic concepts, such as market equilibrium, are postulated, which are only relevant when all or most assumptions hold.
Methods
Mainstream economics has also been defined methodologically as work which mainstream economists are willing to engage, which requires conforming to the mainstream language of mathematical models, featuring calculusCalculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
, optimization
Optimization (mathematics)
In mathematics, computational science, or management science, mathematical optimization refers to the selection of a best element from some set of available alternatives....
, and comparative statics
Comparative statics
In economics, comparative statics is the comparison of two different economic outcomes, before and after a change in some underlying exogenous parameter....
. Under this definition, areas of thought which are typically thought of as heterodox because they do not work under the typical neoclassical assumptions, such as econophysics
Econophysics
Econophysics is an interdisciplinary research field, applying theories and methods originally developed by physicists in order to solve problems in economics, usually those including uncertainty or stochastic processes and nonlinear dynamics...
, behavioral economics, and evolutionary economics
Evolutionary economics
Evolutionary economics is part of mainstream economics as well as heterodox school of economic thought that is inspired by evolutionary biology...
, can be considered mainstream when they are engaged in the mainstream, using mainstream methods. Geoffrey Hodgson
Geoffrey Hodgson
Geoffrey M. Hodgson is a Research Professor of Business Studies in the University of Hertfordshire, and also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Institutional Economics.Prof...
has considered the possibility that evolutionary economics and institutional economics
Institutional economics
Institutional economics focuses on understanding the role of the evolutionary process and the role of institutions in shaping economic behaviour. Its original focus lay in Thorstein Veblen's instinct-oriented dichotomy between technology on the one side and the "ceremonial" sphere of society on the...
may eventually become a new mainstream.
Additionally, some economic fields include elements of both mainstream economics and heterodox economics
Heterodox economics
"Heterodox economics" refers to approaches or to schools of economic thought that are considered outside of "mainstream economics". Mainstream economists sometimes assert that it has little or no influence on the vast majority of academic economists in the English speaking world. "Mainstream...
: for example, the Austrian economics
Austrian School
The Austrian School of economics is a heterodox school of economic thought. It advocates methodological individualism in interpreting economic developments , the theory that money is non-neutral, the theory that the capital structure of economies consists of heterogeneous goods that have...
, institutional economics
Institutional economics
Institutional economics focuses on understanding the role of the evolutionary process and the role of institutions in shaping economic behaviour. Its original focus lay in Thorstein Veblen's instinct-oriented dichotomy between technology on the one side and the "ceremonial" sphere of society on the...
, neuroeconomics
Neuroeconomics
Neuroeconomics is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to explain human decision making, the ability to process multiple alternatives and to choose an optimal course of action. It studies how economic behavior can shape our understanding of the brain, and how neuroscientific discoveries can...
and non-linear complexity theory
Complexity economics
Complexity economics is the application of complexity science to the problems of economics. It studies computer simulations to gain insight into economic dynamics, and avoids the assumption that the economy is a system in equilibrium.- Models :...
.
They may use neoclassical economics as a point of departure. At least one institutionalist has argued that "neoclassical economics no longer dominates a mainstream economics."
A countervailing trend is the expansion of mainstream methods to such seemingly distant fields as crime
the family, law
Law and economics
The economic analysis of law is an analysis of law applying methods of economics. Economic concepts are used to explain the effects of laws, to assess which legal rules are economically efficient, and to predict which legal rules will be promulgated.-Relationship to other disciplines and...
, politics, and religion.
The latter phenomenon is sometimes referred to as economic imperialism.
Topics
Mainstream economics includes theories of marketMarket failure
Market failure is a concept within economic theory wherein the allocation of goods and services by a free market is not efficient. That is, there exists another conceivable outcome where a market participant may be made better-off without making someone else worse-off...
and government failure
Government failure
Government failure is the public sector analogy to market failure and occurs when a government intervention causes a more inefficient allocation of goods and resources than would occur without that intervention...
and private and public good
Public good
In economics, a public good is a good that is non-rival and non-excludable. Non-rivalry means that consumption of the good by one individual does not reduce availability of the good for consumption by others; and non-excludability means that no one can be effectively excluded from using the good...
s. These developments suggest a range of views on the desirability or otherwise of government intervention.
Critical views of mainstream
Since the financial crisis of 2007–2010, considerable conflict has arisen, among both economic theorists and a wider cross-section of the public, regarding the status and future of mainstream economics.Chartalists
Chartalism
Chartalism is a descriptive economic theory that details the procedures and consequences of using government-issued tokens as the unit of money. The name derives from the Latin charta, in the sense of a token or ticket...
, who are generally considered part of the Post-Keynesian school of thought, criticise mainstream theory as failing to describe the actual mechanics of modern fiat monetary economies. Chartalism focuses on a detailed understanding of the way money actually flows through the different sectors of an economy. Specifically, Chartalism focuses on the interaction between central banks, treasury and the private banking system. Chartalism rejects critical mainstream theories such as the loanable funds market, the money multiplier
Money multiplier
In monetary economics, a money multiplier is one of various closely related ratios of commercial bank money to central bank money under a fractional-reserve banking system. Most often, it measures the maximum amount of commercial bank money that can be created by a given unit of central bank money...
, and the utility of fiscal austerity.
Some economists, in the vein of ecological economics
Ecological economics
Image:Sustainable development.svg|right|The three pillars of sustainability. Clickable.|275px|thumbpoly 138 194 148 219 164 240 182 257 219 277 263 291 261 311 264 331 272 351 283 366 300 383 316 394 287 408 261 417 224 424 182 426 154 423 119 415 87 403 58 385 40 368 24 347 17 328 13 309 16 286 26...
, believe that the neoclassical "holy trinity" of rationality, greed, and equilibrium, is being replaced by the holy trinity of purposeful behavior, enlightened self-interest
Enlightened self-interest
Enlightened self-interest is a philosophy in ethics which states that persons who act to further the interests of others , ultimately serve their own self-interest....
, and sustainability, considerably broadening the scope of what is mainstream. Ecological economics
Ecological economics
Image:Sustainable development.svg|right|The three pillars of sustainability. Clickable.|275px|thumbpoly 138 194 148 219 164 240 182 257 219 277 263 291 261 311 264 331 272 351 283 366 300 383 316 394 287 408 261 417 224 424 182 426 154 423 119 415 87 403 58 385 40 368 24 347 17 328 13 309 16 286 26...
addresses sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
issues, such as public good
Public good
In economics, a public good is a good that is non-rival and non-excludable. Non-rivalry means that consumption of the good by one individual does not reduce availability of the good for consumption by others; and non-excludability means that no one can be effectively excluded from using the good...
s, natural capital
Natural capital
Natural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital to goods and services relating to the natural environment. Natural capital is thus the stock of natural ecosystems that yields a flow of valuable ecosystem goods or services into the future...
and negative externalities (such as pollution).
Alternative economic schools, such as the Austrian School
Austrian School
The Austrian School of economics is a heterodox school of economic thought. It advocates methodological individualism in interpreting economic developments , the theory that money is non-neutral, the theory that the capital structure of economies consists of heterogeneous goods that have...
, also present views that contradict current mainstream economic theory regarding how the modern economy actually works.
Energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
related theories of economic concepts also exist within energy economics
Energy economics
Energy economics is a broad scientific subject area which includes topics related to supply and use of energy in societies. Due to diversity of issues and methods applied and shared with a number of academic disciplines, energy economics does not present itself as a self contained academic...
relating to thermodynamic concepts of economic thinking, such as Energy accounting
Energy accounting
Energy accounting is a system used within industry, where measuring and analyzing the energy consumption of different activities is done to improve energy efficiency.-Energy management:...
. Biophysical economics relates to this area.