Thermoeconomics

Thermoeconomics is the name given to a type of heterodox economic theory that attempts to explicitly apply the principles of thermodynamics to economics.cite book | last = Sieniutycz | first = Stanislaw | coauthors = Salamon, Peter | title = Finite-Time Thermodynamics and Thermoeconomics | publisher = Taylor & Francis | year = 1990 | id = ISBN 0-8448-1668-X] The term "thermoeconomics" was coined in 1962 by American engineer Myron Tribus, [Yehia M. El-Sayed (2003). "The Thermoeconomics of Energy Conversions" (pg. 4). Pergamon.] [A. Valero, L. Serra, and J. Uche (2006). [http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=JERTD2000128000001000001000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes Fundamentals of Exergy Cost Accounting and Thermoeconomics. Part I: Theory] , Journal of Energy Resources Technology, March, Volume 128, Issue 1, pp. 1-8 ] [Gong, Mei, Wall, Goran. (1997). [http://www.exergy.se/ftp/execopt.pdf On Exergetics, Economics and Optimization of Technical Processes to Meet Environmental Conditions] . Exergy Studies.] and developed by the statistician and economist Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen.cite book | last = Georgescu-Roegen | first = Nicholas | title = The Entropy Law and the Economic Process | publisher = Harvard University Press | year = 1971 | id = ISBN 0-674-25781-2] Thermoeconomics can be thought of as the statistical physics of economic value. [cite book | last = Chen | first = Jing | title = The Physical Foundation of Economics - an Analytical Thermodynamic Theory | publisher = World Scientific | year = 2005 | id = ISBN 981-256-323-7] Thermoeconomics is based on the proposition that the role of energy in biological evolution should be defined and understood through the second law of thermodynamics but in terms of such economic criteria as productivity, efficiency, and especially the costs and benefits (or profitability) of the various mechanisms for capturing and utilizing available energy to build biomass and do work. [Peter A. Corning 1 *, Stephen J. Kline. (2000). [http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/71007254/ABSTRACT Thermodynamics, information and life revisited, Part II: Thermoeconomics and Control information ] Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Apr. 07, Volume 15, Issue 6 , Pages 453 – 482] [ Corning, P. (2002). “ [http://www.complexsystems.org/abstracts/thermoec.html Thermoeconomics – Beyond the Second Law] ” – source: www.complexsystems.org] As a result, thermoeconomics are often discussed in the field of ecological economics, which itself is related to the fields of sustainability and sustainable development.

In "Wealth, Virtual Wealth and Debt" (George Allen & Unwin 1926), Frederick Soddy turned his attention to the role of energy in economic systems. He criticized the focus on monetary flows in economics, arguing that “real” wealth was derived from the use of energy to transform materials into physical goods and services. Soddy’s economic writings were largely ignored in his time, but would later be applied to the development of bioeconomics and ecological economics in the late 20th century. [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Soddy,_FrederickSoddy, Frederick - Encyclopedia of Earth]

Thermoeconomists claim that human economic systems can be modeled as thermodynamic systems. Then, based on this premise, they attempt to develop theoretical economic analogs of the first and second laws of thermodynamics. [cite book | last = Burley | first = Peter | coauthors = Foster, John | title = Economics and Thermodynamics – New Perspectives on Economic Analysis | publisher = Kluwer Academic Publishers | year = 1994 | id = ISBN 0-7923-9446-1] In addition, the thermodynamic quantity exergy, i.e. measure of the useful work energy of a system, is the most important measure of value. In thermodynamics, thermal systems exchange heat, work, and or mass with their surroundings; in this direction, relations between the energy associated with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services can be determined. [http://telstar.ote.cmu.edu/environ/m3/s3/05account.shtml Environmental Decision making, Science and Technology]

Thermoeconomists argue that economic systems always involve matter, energy, entropy, and information.Baumgarter, Stefan. (2004). [http://www.eco.uni-heidelberg.de/ng-oeoe/research/papers/Baumgaertner%202004%20ModEE.pdf Thermodynamic Models] , Modeling in Ecological Economics (Ch. 18)] Moreover, the aim of many economic activities is to achieve a certain structure. In this manner, thermoeconomics attempts to apply the theories in non-equilibrium thermodynamics, in which structure formations called dissipative structures form, and information theory, in which information entropy is a central construct, to the modeling of economic activities in which the natural flows of energy and materials function to create scarce resources. In thermodynamic terminology, human economic activity may be described as a dissipative system, which flourishes by transforming and exchanging resources, goods, and services. [cite journal
last = Raine | first = Alan
coauthors = Foster, John; and Potts, Jason
title = The new entropy law and the economic process
journal = Ecological Complexity | volume = 3 | pages = 354-360 | date = 2006
doi = 10.1016/j.ecocom.2007.02.009
accessdate = 2007-11-19] These processes involve complex networks of flows of energy and materials. __NOTOC__

ee also

*Population dynamics
*Energy Accounting
*Ecodynamics
*Bioeconomics
*Econophysics

References

Further reading

*cite book | last = Soddy | first = Frederick | title = Cartesian Economics: The Bearing of Physical Science upon State Stewardship | publisher = London:Hendersons | year = 1922
*cite book | last = El-Sayed | first = Yehia, M. | title = The Thermoeconomics of Energy Conversions | publisher = Pergamon | year = 2003 | id = ISBN 0-08-044270-6

External links

* [http://www.technocracy.org/natureofgrowth.htm M. King Hubbert on the Nature of Growth. 1974]
*Yuri Yegorov, article Econo-physics: A Perspective of Matching Two Sciences, Evol. Inst. Econ. Rev. 4(1): 143–170 (2007) [http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/eier/4/1/143/_pdf _pdf (application/pdf Object)]
*Borisas Cimbleris (1998): [http://ecen.com/eee9/ecoterme.htm Economy and Thermodynamics]
*Schwartzman, David. (2007). " [http://www.redandgreen.org/Documents/Limits%20to%20entropy%20final.pdf The Limits to Entropy: the Continuing Misuse of Thermodynamics in Environmental and Marxist theory] ", In Press, Science & Society.
*Saslow, Wayne M. (1999). " [http://www.df.uba.ar/users/giribet/f4/economic.pdf An Economic Analogy to Thermodynamics] " "American Association of Physics Teachers".
* [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Soddy,_Frederick Soddy, Frederick - Encyclopedia of Earth]
* [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Biophysical_economics Biophysical economics - Encyclopedia of Earth]