Molly Scott Cato

Entrepreneurial Energy: Associative Entrepreneurship in the Renewable Energy Sector in Wales

The central suggestion of this paper is that innovation in the concept of entrepreneurship is overdue and that the concept of entrepreneurship needs to be extended to accommodate its often neglected collective or pluralistic dimension, a concept we have called ‘associative entrepreneurship’. We have also argued that there may be a natural link between sustainability and the co-operative form. In this paper we draw these themes together by considering the entrepreneurial potential expressed by the recent creation of mutual businesses in a range of renewable energy sectors in Wales. We suggest that, at least in the renewable energy sector and perhaps in other sectors too, innovation in the direction of sustainability may require a development of the concept of entrepreneurship in the direction of mutualism. In view of the urgent need to move towards a low-carbon economy and the expansion of the renewable energy sector this would require, understanding of the motivations of entrepreneurs in this sector is of great value.

A bioregional economy: A green and post-capitalist alternative to an economy of accumulation

Some of the most compelling explanations for the current crisis reasoning comes from a Marxist understanding of how rising inequality and accumulation by dispossession during the neoliberal era led to economic instability. Other arguments put forward tend to ignore the inappropriateness of stimulating aggregate demand in an era when we have already grown beyond the planetary boundary, as evidenced by the crises of land use, climate change, and resource depletion. It may not be possible to address these problems within a reformed capitalism; rather, such a goal can only be met within a post-capitalist ecological economy geared to production for need, not for profit. This paper sets out a post-capitalist alternative drawing from green economics and Marxian economics and applied at a local and regional level.

An ‘alternative mainstream’? The impact of financial inclusion policy on credit unions in Wales

Not having access to mainstream financial services, such as a bank account or a credit card, can lead to a variety of social and economic exclusions. In a number of countries, particularly Ireland, Spain, Canada and the UK, credit unions— member-owned financial co-operatives—play a significant role in reaching under-served and excluded communities, as well as providing ‘safe’ avenues for savings and credit. Yet many credit unions are facing financial and operational problems. This article looks at the experience of Welsh credit unions. The research has implications for policy development and government–credit union relations in Wales and further research on credit unions and financial inclusion.

So you like to play the guitar? Music‐based social enterprise as a response to economic inactivity

Purpose – To study the relationship between organization structure and socio‐economic impact in the Welsh music industry and the potential role of social enterprises.Design/methodology/approach – The economic value of social enterprise and the role of creative industries in urban regeneration are discussed from the viewpoint of the inclusion of marginalized workers, especially the young, into the labour‐market. Discusses the increasing political interest in social enterprise and explores evidence for this policy interest, including whether the nature of the governance and management structure of social enterprises influences their social and economic impacts. Reports preliminary stages of the research project and presents evidence gathered through case studies of three unnamed music businesses based in South Wales comprising: a development agency based on co‐operative principles; a loosely organized collective of practitioners and trainers; and a limited liability company. Explains that all three companie...

Rethinking the Factors of Production for a World of Common Ownership and Sustainability

The classical economists bequeathed us an understanding of the nature of economies in terms of three factors of production: land, labor, and capital. If we are to transcend the unsustainable and inequitable economy we live with today, an intellectual reinterpretation of these three factors is a vital first step. In this paper we provide such a liberating reinterpretation with examples from European and Latin American praxis.

At the sharp end of the credit crisis: A profile of Valleys Credit Union

The near-collapse of the country’s largest financial institutions and the forced nationalisation of two major high-street banks raise concerns about the ability of smaller financial institutions to survive. In this article we assess the performance of a credit union in the South Wales Valleys in the context of the financial crisis. We offer a profile of Valleys Credit Union and provide statistics to assess its financial health and viability. We conclude that, while the credit union has ridden out the storm with considerable skill, it and other credit unions require continued political support, especially in terms of intervention in the market for instant loans with excessive rates of interest.

The Economist as Shaman: Revisioning Our Role for a Sustainable, Provisioning Economy

In this paper I take a wide perspective on what the role of an economist might be in an anthropological sense, taking a step back and considering what an economist might be for in a general sense, rather than in the sense of a capitalist society in the early 21st century. I suggest that the role of an economist is one of an intermediary between people and the resources they need for survival, a role that in less rationalist societies might have been performed by a priest or shaman. In the era of climate change this role may be expressed in terms of the moral consequences of certain forms of consumption, such as eating meat or using airplanes for travel. At a deeper level, the economist may be well-placed to negotiate the nominal space between humans and other species, especially in situations where our survival requires the death of some species. What does this conception of economists as intermediaries imply for our role in an era where over-consumption is threatening our survival as a species and our lifestyles are threatening the existence of other species, as well as our own? I propose three central responsibilities for an economist in a sustainable society: supporting a process of re-embedding the economy in the environment; negotiating a respectful — even reverential — relationship between humans and non-human species; ensuring a means of acquiring resources that minimizes the entropic impact of the human community.

A New Financial Architecture Based on a Global Carbon Standard

The present crisis in the global economy is more serious than anything that we have witnessed since the 1930s, yet policies designed to tackle it are limited and inadequate. Those that have been proposed, in terms of fiscal stimulus, rely on an outmoded view of the economy, where money can be used to force economic growth. Since the recognition of planetary limits such a strategy is no longer admissible. Instead, we need a global system where countries agree to limit their carbon dioxide emissions: this paper outlines the Contraction and Convergence model, which proposes that countries do this within a framework of equal per capita emissions for all global citizens. However, within the existing financial architecture such a policy would do nothing to prevent the US from continuing to print dollars and to use these to gain an unfair share of world production. Other countries controlling reserve currencies would also be able to avoid strict limits. The policy answer proposed is that of the Ebcu (environment-backed currency unit) — a neutral global trading currency to be used by countries that have also signed up to the C&C model.

A Green Post-capitalist Alternative to a System of Accumulation: A Bioregional Economy*

ABSTRACT This paper explores capital accumulation as the engine of the capitalist mode of production. Accumulation drives the socio-economic damage caused by capitalism, as well as the environmental crises of land use, climate change and resource depletion. It may not be possible to address these problems within a reformed capitalism. Rather, such a goal can only be met within “a practical, workable post-capitalist and post-accumulative ecological economy, an economy by the people, for the people, that is geared to production for need, not for profit” [Smith, R. (2010). “Beyond Growth or Beyond Capitalism?” Real-World Economics Review 53: 28–42., 42]. This paper sets out a post-capitalist alternative, drawing from green economics and Marxian economics, that is, applied at a local and regional level.

Who Owes Whom? Citizens’ Audit as a Response to the Sovereign Debt Crisis

At the level of public discourse the debate surrounding European sovereign debt crises has become polarised between the need for greater levels of public spending cuts and privatisation (‘austerity’) and the need to use government investment or reductions in regulatory policies to bring about renewed economic growth. This effectively sidelines a whole range of the most important questions from the point of view of the citizens of Europe: How was the debt acquired? How are the gains and losses caused by the crisis to be shared between debtors and creditors? Are there alternatives to the repayment of the debt, which demands such a high social price? In order to begin to answer these questions, citizens and campaigners in a number of European and North African countries have established campaigns for ‘Citizens’ Audits.’ They are demanding full access to government accounts and full details of how destructive debts were acquired in their names. These campaigns are organised around the concept of ‘odious debt,’ first developed by the US and later used by countries of the majority world to challenge their external debts. This paper offers some theoretical background to the idea of a Citizens’ Audit and provides thumbnail sketches of the activity of audit campaigns in a number of European and North African countries.