Reconceptualizing the economic agent to achieve the ecological transition

Doit-on reconceptualiser l'agent économique pour accompagner la transition climatique ?

Maxime Desmarais-Tremblay ()
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Maxime Desmarais-Tremblay: BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - AgroParisTech - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement

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Abstract: How should we understand the widespread opposition to carbon taxes? Economists studying the acceptability of climate policies start from a conception of the individual that is too narrow to fully answer this question. First, I propose to review the history and epistemological foundations of the standard conception of the agent in economics. This conception does not take into account the diversity of values expressed by individuals in their choices and actions. Second, I sketch an alternative conception proposed by American philosopher Elizabeth Anderson (1993). Third, with this pluralist and expressivist conception of values in mind, I raise the question of individual responsibility in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I argue that any sound understanding of the challenges of the ecological transition should pay attention to social norms and the ways they structure expectations for the good life against which people express their values. Fourth, I discuss the importance of equity, equality, and justice for understanding the popular reaction to climate policies.

Keywords: Ecological transition; Equity; Economic agent; Values in economics; Transition climatique; Equité; Agent économique; Valeurs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme and nep-mac
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Published in Revue d'économie industrielle , 2026, Économie et environnement : contributions aux défis du XXIe siècle, 191, pp.41-66

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