List of Figures

xi

List of Tables

xv

Acknowledgments

xvii

Abbreviations

xix

Introduction: Putting Ecological Economics into Sustainable Agricultural Practices

1

General Background of the Research

2

Research Problems and Contentions

5

Justification of the Research

8

Methodological Framework

11

Outline of the Book

13

Chapter 1: Ecological Economics as a Transdisciplinary Approach to Sustainability

17

Ecosystems and Economic Subsystems: The Loss of Harmony

18

A Critique of Neoclassical and Environmental Economics

21

From Normal to Postnormal Science: A Paradigm Shift

25

A Science of Synthesis

30

Three Core Ecological Economic Concepts Revisited

32

Summary

41

Chapter 2: Ecological Economics in China

43

Emerging Background

44

Historical Review of Chinese Ecological Economics

47