Andriana Vlachou

Capitalism and ecological sustainability: the shaping of environmental policies

Detailed analyses of environmental policies and their implications for the ecological sustainability of capitalism are missing from the eco-Marxist literature. Moreover, environmental policies have been often dismissed by several eco-Marxists on the ground that they are shaped on capitals terms. It is the objective of this paper to theorize the shaping of environmental regulation from a value-theoretic and class struggle perspective. It is argued that the negative economic impacts of pollution and resource depletion, captured by prices and rents, instigate various class and environmental conflicts and struggles which reshape the interchange between capitalism and nature. The state as a social site becomes an arena of these struggles. The state is called upon by the many different competing agents to mediate their access to nature. Evidence from many concrete cases shows that environmental policies and adjustments have been the outcome of this complex social interaction. However, the emerging ecological restructuring of capitalism can not guarantee its ecological sustainability. In particular, it gives rise to new problems and contradictions rendering ecological sustainability of capitalism uncertain.

Energy and environment: Reducing CO2 emissions from the electric power industry

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to (1) investigate the production (cost) structure of electric power generation in view of CO 2 emissions reduction policies; (2) empirically analyze the role of uncontrolled CO 2 emissions in shaping the production structure of the industry; and (3) explore long-run strategies for reducing CO 2 emissions generated by the industry. For the implementation of our purpose, two methodological approaches were used: the econometric approach and the economic-engineering approach. The econometric approach, based on the translog production technology, focuses on issues relating to cost structure of the industry, input relationships (i.e., substitutability vs. complementarity), and related CO 2 policy issues. On the other hand, the economic-engineering approach, which is a synthesis of a probabilistic simulation and a dynamic programming model, develops least-cost expansion plans aimed at reducing CO 2 emissions to desired levels. The estimates obtained from the econometric model reveal that the production (cost) structure of the electricity industry in Greece has become heavily reliant on a high-carbon fuel technology (i.e., lignite generation of electricity). However, the estimated partial elasticities of substitution suggest that carbon taxes will induce a shift away from lignite to oil and hydro technologies, and energy conservation. On the other hand, the findings supplied by the economic-engineering model suggest policy options, which are not presently in use, to reduce CO 2 emissions. Specifically, the findings indicate that lignite generation can be replaced by natural gas, coal, or lignite technologies with CO 2 removal capabilities, hydro and other renewable generating technologies. Effective carbon tax policies leading to least-cost expansion plans depend on the size of the target and its timing.

Interfuel substitution: Results from several sectors of the Greek economy

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to study interfuel substitution in various sectors of the Greek economy. An econometric model, utilizing the translog cost function, is estimated for three major sectors of the economy - agriculture, industry (disaggregated, also, into three branches) and transport. Fuels are aggregated into three categories: solid fuels, liquid fuels and electricity. The model is estimated using time-series data over the period 1960–1980. The results indicate substitutability between liquid fuels and electricity, mainly complementarity between liquid and solid fuels, and substitutability between electricity and solid fuels.

Climate Change: The Political Economy of Kyoto Flexible Mechanisms

The Kyoto Protocol entered into force on February 16, 2005. Emissions reductions targets established by the protocol will be met by domestic policies and by three international flexible mechanisms: clean development, joint implementation, and emissions trading. Following a value-theoretic and class-based approach, the purpose of this paper is to analyze these flexible mechanisms. In particular, the paper investigates the nature and adoption of flexible mechanisms, and their class and environmental links and implications. Carbon-intensive capitalist firms and developed economies are found to be exerting great influence on the shaping and implementation of flexible mechanisms. Environmental effectiveness and justice, and equal sustainable development raised and claimed by worker-citizens, social movements, local communities, and developing countries have not been secured. Thus flexible mechanisms do not present a real challenge to current institutions and practices for sustainable climate conditions for the workers-citizen of the world. JEL classification: B5, P1, Q4

Investigating strategies to reduce CO2 emissions from the electricity sector: the case of Greece

Abstract This paper investigates strategies to reduce CO 2 emissions from the electricity sector. In particular, it explores possibilities on the supply side and the significance of demand-side changes. It uses an economic engineering model for electricity generation capacity expansion which combines stochastic simulation for production-cost calculations and dynamic programming for selecting the optimum expansion plan. The model is used to investigate optimal strategies for stabilizing CO 2 emissions from the electricity sector in Greece; these accounted for 50% of CO 2 emissions produced in the country in 1990. It is also used to estimate the optimal tax required to achieve the optimal strategy for controlling CO 2 emissions to the desired level.

Contemporary Economic Theory: Some Critical Issues

Neoliberal theory has become very influential today. Several factors have contributed to its wide spread, among them the persistent decline in economic development since the mid-1970s and the rising dissatisfaction with Keynesian explanations and prescriptions. The analytical tensions and inadequacies of Keynesianism became particularly apparent in dealing with the concurrent problems of unemployment and inflation. Moreover, the continuing internationalization of economic relations in terms of trade, investment and finance gave rise to the concept of ‘globalization’ — that is, to the idea that national economies and cultures are dissolving into global processes. Global economic activity appears to be dominated by market forces; multinational companies can render national fiscal and monetary policies ineffective. Neoliberalism, with its strong support for market forces, is thus well suited to this international environment.

Ranking and the prospects of heterodox economics in Greece

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the past experience of ranking of journals and Economics departments in Greece.Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a critical assessment of rankings on heterodox economists in Greece.Findings – Modeled after the Anglo‐American patterns, albeit unofficial, ranking had a detrimental impact on heterodox economics in terms of hiring and promotion, and of the subject content of academic programmes.Research limitations/implications – This tendency is expected to continue and to be reinforced in the future with the upcoming standardized rankings. However, quality research assessment in higher education has been and still is being heavily disputed across Greek universities on academic, politico‐economic and social grounds.Originality/value – This is the first critical assessment of rankings on heterodox economists in Greece.

Global warming: least-cost electricity planning to meet CO2 emissions limits

This paper explores least-cost strategies for reducing CO2 emissions from the electric power industry. It uses an economic-engineering model for electric generation capacity expansion to investigate expansion plans which meet alternative CO2 emissions constraints in the lowest cost. The model selects the mix of various energy technologies, which are either presently in use or will possibly be in use in the future, to meet a specific carbon emissions limit and, furthermore, estimates the optimal tax required to achieve the least-cost strategy for reducing emissions to the desired level. Using Greece as a case study, the study suggests that to stabilize CO2 emissions at their 1990 level by the year 2005 and thereafter, the industry should move away from lignite generation to hydro and renewables and to coal or lignite technologies with CO2 removal capabilities. An optimal tax of

Appropriating Nature in Crisis-ridden Greece: The Rationale of Capitalist Restructuring, Part 1

105 per ton of carbon is required to achieve this target in the lowest cost.

The Greek Economy in Turmoil

ABSTRACT The ongoing crisis in Greece constitutes an emblematic case of repressive capitalist restructuring. In this first part of a two-paper series, we argue that public debt is used as a vehicle for furthering the neoliberal transformation of Greek society with serious implications for the appropriation of nature. We present theoretical considerations about nature in capitalism, the rationale of neoliberal capitalist restructuring, as well as the relation between nature and neoliberalism. We finally present the timeline of the Greek crisis, as well as how the three structural adjustment programs wrought a severe capitalist restructuring upon Greece.