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Author Archives: Elisabeth Dostal
reflection on systemic governance
Systems thinking distinguish between three types of systemic governance or regulation: form maintaining, form creating and form destroying. It also stipulates that all three are required in any situation or system and that they need to be balanced appropriately to … Continue reading
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reflection on the financial paradigm
Looking at the question Does investing systemically create more value for the dollar than a linear system? from a financial perspective, the following comes to my mind as a systems thinker (not as a finance expert, which I am not): … Continue reading
Posted in economic theory
Tagged financial paradigm
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reflection on law of diminishing returns and opportunity costs
The law of diminishing returns states that adding more of one factor of production (while keeping others constant) will at some point yield lower per unit returns. While this seems to hold true in the context of material production processes, … Continue reading
Posted in economic theory
Tagged diminishing returns, synergy
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reflection on mei
Everything we observe consists of mei (i.e. matter, energy and information). There is a difference in the properties or qualities associated with material, energy and information resources which is (or should be) of relevance to our economic theory as it … Continue reading
how to explore economic theory from a systemic perspective
I would suggest that one could start with some reflections (e.g. involving a PhD or Master student, or a team of economics students) on systems thinking and economic theory. For example, one could reflect on the various concepts that make … Continue reading
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reflection on the market paradigm
The growing popularity of the market as an arbiter of economic decision-making verges on reification. The first comment in many public media after an unusual event is “how did the market react?” To whom does a short-term up or down movement … Continue reading
reflection on limits
All material growth and material development has to reach limits inherent in the outer and inner environment of the system. These limits are derived from the carrying capacity of natural systems. A systemic definition of sustainability would be staying within … Continue reading
reflection on economic growth
In the 1980s, the famous systems thinker R. L. Ackoff wrote about his concern about our obsession with economic growth, the difference between growth (an increase in size) and development (an increase in quality) and that there can be development … Continue reading
Posted in economic theory, growth and development, limits, structure
Tagged multi-dimensionality
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new economic theory
I have been recently asked about contributing some ideas to development of new economic theory, more specifically: Does investing systemically create more value for the dollar than in a linear system? I have put together a few initial thoughts on a new economic theory … Continue reading
Posted in economic theory
Tagged diminishing returns, growth, growth and development, levels, limits, markets, synergy
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