ENTROPY ECONOMICS : The Living Basis of Value and Production / James K. Galbraith and Jing Chen.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 203-212) and index.

An economic theory compatible with life processes and physical laws -- Economics without equilibrium -- No economy without government -- Theories of value in economics -- Scarcity, information, entropy, and economic value -- Resources and the theory of production -- Elements of a biophysical production theory -- A biophysical theory of production in mathematical form -- Life in a world without equilibrium.

"Economists dream of equilibrium. It's time to wake up. In mainstream economics, markets are ideal if competition is perfect. When supply balances demand, economic maturity is orderly and disturbed only by shocks. These ideas are rooted in doctrines going back thousands of years yet, as James K. Galbraith and Jing Chen show, they contradict the foundations of our scientific understanding of the physical and biological worlds. Entropy Economics discards the conventions of equilibrium and presents a new basis for thinking about economic issues, one rooted in life processes--an unequal world of unceasing change in which boundaries, plans, and regulations are essential. Galbraith and Chen's theory of value is based on scarcity, and it accounts for the power of monopoly. Their theory of production covers increasing and decreasing returns, uncertainty, fixed investments over time, and the impact of rising resource costs. Together, their models illuminate key problems such as trade, finance, energy, climate, conflict, and demography. Entropy Economics is a thrilling framework for understanding the world as it is and will be keenly relevant to the economic challenges of a world threatened with disorder"-- Provided by publisher.