If there is a branch of economics that traditionally has been related to, and contributed to conservation is Ecological economics. But What is Ecological Economics?, How different it is from Environmental economics?, and How is it applied to Conservation? Ecological economics in a nutshell Strong link with natural sciences One thing that sets apart Ecological … Continue reading Ecological Economics and Conservation
Have you ever wondered how someone with an economic or social science background can contribute to conservation? I had asked myself that question many times while we were preparing for the sabbatical and our volunteer work in Costa Rica. I searched the internet looking for examples of volunteer work in conservation and it seemed to … Continue reading How Economics can contribute to Conservation
It is now a little over two months since Costa Rica published its first report on the Corona crises. At that point in time (11th of March) there were 22 reported cases of infected people. Today, there are 863 of which, only 288 are active cases. This country of 5 million inhabitants has suffered only … Continue reading What a tiny tropical country can teach the world about managing the coronavirus crisis
Another outcome of the fantastic Horizon 2020 MAKERS project coordinated by Prof. Lisa de Propris has just seen the light. The book investigates the links between Industry 4.0 and Regional Transformations in Europe, illustrated through a large variety of cases. In this book, Marco Bellandi, Monica Plechero and I have a chapter in which we propose a … Continue reading New publication: Transformative paths, multiscalarity of knowledge bases and industry 4.0
In this new paper co-authored with Blaise Bayuo and Bo Göransson and published in Technology Forecasting and Social Change, we conduct a systematic review of the literature on the role of universities in sustainability transformations. We look at how the way that universities organize their three missions: teaching, research, and the third mission enable or … Continue reading New publication: Unpacking the role of universities in the emergence, development and impact of social innovations
In these dark times, in which a small virus is putting our economies and societies against the cords, I would like to share these deep reflections from the Italian psychologist Raffaele Morelli (Original text in Italian). No need to add more words as the text speaks for itself. I think the universe has its way … Continue reading Wisdom, in times of Coronavirus
In this new paper co-authored with Roman Martin and James McKeever we investigated how the hybrid character of the video game industry – with strong symbolic cultural roots but also a significant global engagement – affected the geography of innovation networks. Our data shows that firms in the video game industry use both regional and global networks … Continue reading New publication: When regional meets global: exploring the nature of global innovation networks in the video game industry in Southern Sweden
While around the world many are looking for technological, man-made solutions to address the climate crises, the answer is just in front of us. And (spoiler) it is not technogical. At most, one can say that it involves different forms of non-technological innovations: social, institutional and financial. And we all have a role to play. … Continue reading On the importance of nature-based solutions for the climate crises…and what we can do to help
From today onwards and for a whole year, I will be on leave from my job at the university. I am taking a sabbatical and heading to Costa Rica to work as a volunteer in nature conservation projects. It will be a unique life experience, being the student instead of the teacher and the practitioner … Continue reading The last blog, for a while
This perspective paper that has just been published in the Journal of Sustainability Research, reflects my most recent work interrogating the purposes of innovation and its role in sustainable development. It reflects on the differences between adopting weak or strong sustainability as the final goal in terms of innovation and innovation systems. It aims to contribute to … Continue reading Innovation for what? Unpacking the role of innovation for strong and weak sustainability
Cristina Chaminade 