The Economics of the Yasuni Initiative

Climate change lends itself to both radical political economy and humour. Vogel argues that mainstream economics fails to recognize the thermodynamic nature of climate change, thereby missing the point of Northern appropriation of the atmospheric sink. The payment Ecuador seeks for not drilling in the Yasuniacute; is equitable and efficient. Heeding the call of Deidre (formerly Donald) McCloskey that economics needs humour, Vogel has written a scathing critique of economics-as-usual which reads like a twenty-first century tragicomedy.