Ontological and computational aspects of economic-environmental modelling

Abstract

The paper examines economic-environmental modelling from a computational perspective. It considers the relationship between foundational and reference ontologies, warning that the philosophical implications of making an ontological commitment are often far from benign. In particular, it considers the proximity between foundational ontologies motivated by Husserlian phenomenology and neo-Austrian economic thought. Doubts are raised about capital theory in the modelling of economic-environmental interactions. A range of philosophical approaches towards environmental sustainability are also discussed in terms of their congruence with different schools of economic thought. Computational and mathematical aspects of modelling are then considered.