Introduction: The biophysical perspective

In this theme, the economy is presented as a so-called metabolic organism, i.e an organism with a metabolism. This focuses on the economy in a biophysical perspective, which makes an important contribution to the understanding of the economy and economic theory.

A metabolic organism

The word, metabolism, stems from the Old Greek word for change or transition and refers to the transformation of materials and energy.

Measuring the economy’s metabolism

In order to contribute to the sustainable transition of the economy, politicians and other actors need to be aware of how the metabolic process of the economy is going and how different policies affect it.