Beyond Ecological Economics and Development: Critical Reflections on the Thought of Manfred Max-Neef

The interrelationship between development, environment and human needs is one of the key issues facing the word today. The Chilean economist, Manfred Max-Neef, was a leading thinker on this dynamic and this book provides both an introduction to and analysis of his work and ideas.

Luis Valenzuela-Rivera is an assistant professor at the Institute of Economics of the Austral University of Chile. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Oxford, as well as a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Oxford and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

His areas of interest are inequality, technological change, productivity, and the labour market, in addition to the philosophy and methodology of economics. He is an associate member of the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the University of Oxford and adjunct researcher at the Millennium Nucleus on the Evolution of Work (M-NEW). He has been a consultant for the World Economic Forum and advisor of different agencies at the Government of Chile.

María del Valle Barrera is an adjunct professor at the Institute of Economics of the Austral University of Chile. She holds a Master’s degree in Rural Development from Austral University of Chile and a PhD in Political Science from Universidad de Cuyo in Argentina.

She teaches at the Master’s Programme in Human Scale Development and Ecological Economics at Austral University of Chile. She worked with late Prof. Max-Neef on several projects since 2001, and has specialised in participatory processes of sustainable development and community engagement. As a UNDP consultant, María has worked on energy poverty, climate change, and local governments.