Energy, Complexity and Wealth Maximization

Professor Ayres holds a PhD in Mathematical Physics from Kings College, University of London, a MSc in Physics from the University of Maryland and a BA, BSc from the University of Chicago. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Economics and Political Science and of Technology and Operations Management at INSEAD, the international graduate business school. He joined INSEAD in 1992, becoming the first Novartis Chair of Management and the Environment, as well as the founder of CMER, Center for the Management of Environmental Resources. He directed CMER from 1992-2000. Since retirement he has been a visiting professor at Chalmers Institute of Technology in Sweden (where he was also a King's Professor) and Institute Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria, He remains active, producing publications on topics ranging from Industrial Metabolisms and Industrial Ecology, through Environmental Policy and Environmental Economics, to Energy. Professor Ayres is the author or coauthor of 21 books, most recently including The Economic Growth Engine (2009, with Benjamin Warr), Crossing the Energy Divide (2009, with Edward Ayres) and The Bubble Economy (2014).

Preface.- Glossary of Terms.- Glossary of People.- Part I..- A Brief History of Ideas: Energy, Entropy and Evolution.- The Cosmos, the Sun and the Earth.- The Origin of Life.- Energy, Water, Climate and Cycles.- Summary of Part I: From the "Big Bang" to Nutrient Cycles.- Part II.- Energy and Technology.- The New World - and Science.- Energy, Technology and the Future.- Part III.- Mainstream Economics and Energy.- New Perspectives on Capital, Work, and Wealth.- Epilogue.- Appendix. Energy in Growth Theory.- References.

"Ayres does a great job in 'explaining energy or entropy to otherwise educated people' ... which was the starting point of this book. He not only illustrates the physical basics of thermodynamics in a very comprehensible way for non-physicists, but also points out the importance of energy for the evolution of mankind. Therefore, (energy) economists as well as people interested in the interdependency between physics, technology and economics will certainly enjoy reading this book." (Daniel Nachtigall, Journal of Economics, Vol. 121, 2017)