CONFESSIONS OF A SERENDIPITOUS GEOGRAPHER
I began graduate school with the goal of becoming a specialist in the very narrow subject of free-trade agreements. I did my best to learn more and more about less and less – at least for a while. In time, however, it dawned upon me that the most interesting areas to work in are usually between disciplines and that the essence of human creativity is putting together different types of knowledge that have hitherto remained separated.
My interest in “exotic” topics – at least from the perspective of mainstream economics, political science and management studies – eventually led me to get a Ph.D. in geography, a discipline that gave me more freedom to combine ideas and insights from a wide range of perspectives.
The anthropologist Marshall Sahlins once described interdisciplinary research as “the process by which the unknowns of one’s own subject are multiplied by the uncertainties of some other sciences.” But like him, I believe that the benefits of interdisciplinarity outweigh the dangers – as long as you are willing to submit your work to the merciless scrutiny of various specialists.
As much as I would like to pretend that there is a method to my selection of research topics and my discovery of forgotten historical evidence, in retrospect it all boiled down to serendipity. I have explained in a few interviews how I came to work on too many topics for my own good and how I made connections between seemingly unrelated topics.
– “The Secret Past of Waste Recycling.” Perc Report (Fall 1999)
– “Faculty Spotlight Interview: Pierre Desrochers.” Mises Institute (December 17, 2010)
– Conversations from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy #142 (2012)
– Pierre Desrochers
Other relevant websites:
– Google Scholar
– ResearchGate
– Academia.edu
– TSpace (University of Toronto)
The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he already knows, without a shadow of a doubt, what is laid before him. –Leo Tolstoy
THE GEOGRAPHY OF INNOVATION
I have looked into how geography, or physical spatial relationships, affects the transmission of ideas and the role of tacit knowledge in economic development. My main contribution has been to document how close physical relationship of diverse economic enterprises leads to greater creativity and economic growth through the cross fertilization of ideas across differing industries. I argued that local specialization, especially that produced by public planning, tends to be less creative and productive in the long run than a geography of economic diversity.
I have also examined the impact of research universities on local economic development and various geographically-based development strategies.
Academic publications
> Journal Articles
“Regional Economic Analysis: The Case for Methodological Individualism” (with Samuli Leppälä). Advances in Austrian Economics, vol. 16 (2012), pp. 25-56.
“Opening up the ‘Jacobs Spillovers’ black box: local diversity, creativity and the processes underlying new combinations” (with Samuli Leppälä), Journal of Economic Geography, vol. 11, no. 5 (September 2011), pp. 843-863.
“Creative Cities and Regions: The Case for Local Economic Diversity” (with Samuli Leppälä) Creativity & Innovation Management, vol. 20, no. 1 (March 2011), pp. 59-69.
“The Division of Labor Needs Not Imply Regional Specialization” (with Samuli Leppälä), Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, vol. 74, nos. 1-2 (May 2010), pp. 137-147.
“The Next Silicon Valley? On the Relationship between Geographical Clustering and Public Policy.” International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, vol. 5, issue 3 (September 2009), pp. 285-299.
“Entrepreneurial Policy: The Case of Regional Specialization vs. Spontaneous Industrial Diversity” (with Frédéric Sautet). Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 32, issue 5 (September 2008), pp. 813-832.
“Cities and the Economic Development of Nations: An Essay on Jane Jacobs’ Contribution to Economic Theory” (with Gert-Jan Hospers), Canadian Journal of Regional Science, vol. 30, no. 1 (Spring 2007), pp. 115-130.
“De l’importance de la diversité économique locale pour l’innovation technique et la valorisation des résidus industriels.” Cahiers de géographie du Québec 50 (141) (Décembre 2006), pp. 479-485.
“Cluster-Based Economic Strategy, Facilitation Policy and the Market Process” (with Frédéric Sautet). Review of Austrian Economics, vol. 17, no. 2-3 (June 2004), pp. 233-245.
“Research Universities and Local Start-Up Development: Lessons from the Johns Hopkins University” (with Maryann Feldman), Industry and Innovation, vol. 10, no. 1 (March 2003), pp. 5-24.
“Local Diversity, Human Creativity and Technological Innovation,” Growth and Change, vol. 32, no. 3 (Summer 2001), pp. 369-394.
“Geographical Proximity and the Transmission of Tacit Knowledge,” The Review of Austrian Economics, vol. 14, no. 1 (Winter 2001), pp. 25-46.
“Les zones d’enterprise: de la théorie à la pratique,” Canadian Journal of Regional Science, vol. 21, no. 3 (Fall 1998), pp. 415-440. [in English: “Enterprise Zones: From Theory to Practice”]
“A Geographical Perspective on Austrian Economics,” The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, vol. 1, no. 2 (Summer 1998), pp. 63-83.
“La fin de la distance et la déconcentration de l’activité économique: Nouvelle réalité ou mirage?” (with Martin Jourdenais), Canadian Journal of Regional Science, vol. 21, no. 1 (Spring 1998), pp. 49-72. [in English: “The Death of Distance and the Deconcentration of Economic Activity: Myth or Reality?”]
> Book Chapters
“Urban Diversity and Innovation” (1st author, with Samuli Leppälä and Joanna Szurmak). In Harald Bathelt, Patrick Cohendet, Sebastian Henn and Laurent Simon (eds), The Elgar Companion to Innovation and Knowledge Creation, Edward Elgar, 2017, pp. 215-229.
“Knowledge for the World: A Brief History of Commercialization at Johns Hopkins University” (with Maryann Feldman and Janet Bercovitz). In Tom Allen and Rory O’Shea (eds), Building Technology Transfer within Research Universities: An Entrepreneurial Approach. Cambridge University Press, 2014, pp. 156-191.
“Creative Local Environments: The Case for Local Economic Diversity” (with Samuli Leppälä). In David Emmanual Andersson, Åke E. Andersson and Charlotta Mellander (eds). 2011. Handbook of Creative Cities. Edward Elgar, pp. 422-434.
“Rethinking ‘Jacobs Spillovers,’ or How Diverse Cities Actually Make Individuals more Creative and Economically Successful” (with Samuli Leppälä). In Stephen A. Goldsmith and Lynne Elizabeth (eds), What We See. Advancing the Observations of Jane Jacobs, Oakland (CA): New Village Press, 2010, pp. 287-296.
“Jane Jacobs and the Economy of Cities” (with Gert-Jan Hospers). In New Technologies, Networks and Governance Structures, Aloys Prinz, Albert E. Steenge and Nina Isegrei (editors), LIT Verlag, 2009, pp. 123-141.
“Silicon Somewhere: Is There a Need for Cluster Policy.” Handbook of Research on Innovation and Clusters: Cases and Policies, Charlie Karlsson, editor, Edward Elgar, 2008, pp. 430-446.
“Diversity and the Case Against Specialized Clusters.” In Handbook of Research on Cluster Theory, Charlie Karlsson (editor), Edward Elgar, 2008, pp. 234-245.
“Urban Diversity and the Processes of Intersectoral Diffusion: Some Insights from the Study of Technical Creativity.” In Institutions and Systems in the Geography of Innovation, Maryann Feldman and Nadine Massard, editors, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001, pp. 99-116.
> Book Reviews
Review of The Wealth and Poverty of Regions, Why Cities Matter by Mario Polese (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010), Regional Studie, vol. 44, no. 8 (October 2010), pp. 1097-1098.
Review of Knowledge in the Development of Economies: Institutional Choices Under Globalisation – Edited by Silvia Sacchetti and Roger Sugden (Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, 2009), Economic Geography, vol. 86, no. 3 (July 2010), pp. 325-326.
Review of The Learning Region. Foundations, State of the Art, Future by Roel Rutten and Frans Boekema (eds) (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2007), Regional Studies, vol. 42, no. 7 (August 2008), pp. 1049-1050.
Review of Globalisation, systèmes productifs et dynamiques territoriales by Régis Guillaume (éditeur) (L’Harmattan, 2005), Canadian Journal of Regional Science, vol. 28, no. 2 (Summer 2005), pp. 403-404.
> Academic Posters
“The Division of Labor Needs Not Imply Regional Specialization” (with Samuli Leppala), Danish Research Unit for Industrial Dynamics (DRUID), 25th Celebration Conference, 2008.
• Other publications
Barney Warf (ed.) 2010. Encyclopedia of Geography 2010. SAGE Publications. “Division of Labor,” (vol. 2, pages 780-781) “Innovation, Geography of,” (vol. 3, pages 1597-1599) “Knowledge Spillovers” (vol. 4, pages 1663-1664) (all co-authored with Samuli Leppälä).
Les « Cités »: une politique efficace pour la nouvelle économie? [in English: The “Cités”: A Sensible Policy for the New Economy?] Research Paper, Institut économique de Montréal, October 2001.
De l’influence d’une ville diversifiée sur la combinaison de techniques: Typologie et analyse de processus, Département de géographie, Ph.D. Dissertation, Université de Montréal, 2000.
• Video
“‘Growing the Next Silicon Valley’ The State Vs Spontaneous Order.” March 24, 2011, Polit. ru Public Lecture Series at the Polytechnic Museum (Moscow, Russia) (in Russian).
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. –Aldous Huxley
CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSIS
I have written a fair amount about industrial symbiosis, a concept within the broader perspective of industrial ecology (or nowadays the circular economy) that analyzes some similarities between industrial networks and ecosystems. Industrial symbiosis occurs when one company’s waste becomes another company’s feedstock. I have argued that, in an effort to wring maximum productivity out of any given resource base, market enterprise has always naturally developed an ecology of recycling between firms.
• Academic publications
> Journal Articles
“Long Distance Trade, Locational Dynamics and By-Product Development: Insights from the History of the American Cottonseed Industry.” (with Joanna Szurmak). Sustainability vol. 9, no. 4 (2017), article 579.
“Squandered Profit Opportunities? Some Historical Perspective on Wasteful Industrial Behavior and the Porter Hypothesis” (with Colleen Haight). Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol. 92 (November 2014), pp. 179-189.
“Peut-on être écologiquement vertueux sans être socialement responsible? L’exemple du recyclage des déchets au dix-neuvième siècle” (with Erwan Quéinnec). VSE: Vie et sciences de l’entreprise, no. 195-196 (December 2013), pp. 99-116.
“Freedom Vs Coercion in Industrial Ecology: A Reply to Boons.” EconJournalWatch, vol. 9, no. 2 (May 2012), pp. 78-99.
“Promoting Corporate Environmental Sustainability in the Victorian Era: The Bethnal Green Museum Permanent Waste Exhibit (1875-1928).” V&A Online Journal (Spring 2011), Issue 3.
“Industrial Symbiosis: Old Wine in Recycled Bottles? Some Perspective from the History of Economic and Geographical Thought” (with Samuli Leppälä), International Regional Science Review, vol. 33, no. 3 (July 2010), pp. 338-361.
“The Environmental Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits (By Creating Value Within the Bounds of Private Property Rights).” Industrial and Corporate Change, vol. 19, no 1 (February 2010), pp. 161-204.
“Victorian Pioneers of Corporate Sustainability.” Business History Review, vol. 83, no. 4 (Winter 2009), pp. 703-729.
“Et si la main invisible avait le pouce vert? Aperçu historique sur le développement de “boucles industrielles” dans les économies de marché.” Management International, vol. 13, no. 4 (Été 2009), pp. 103-114.
“Does the Invisible Hand Have a Green Thumb? Incentives, Linkages, and the Creation of Wealth Out of Industrial Waste in Victorian England.” Geographical Journal, vol. 175, no. 1 (March 2009), pp. 3-16.
“Bringing Inter-Regional Linkages Back In: Industrial Symbiosis, International Trade and the Emergence of the Synthetic Dyes Industry in the Late 19th Century.” Progress in Industrial Ecology, vol. 5, no. 5-6 (December 2008), pp. 465-481.
“Did the Invisible Hand Need a Regulatory Glove to Develop a Green Thumb? Some Historical Perspective on Market Incentives, Win-Win Innovations and the Porter Hypothesis.” Environmental and Resource Economics, vol. 41, no. 4 (December 2008), pp. 519-539.
“‘Business as Usual’ in the Industrial Age: (Relatively) Lean, Green and Eco-Efficient?” (with Karen Lam) Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 1, no. 1 (Summer 2007), pp. 35-46.
“How did the Invisible Hand Handle Industrial Waste? By-product Development before the Modern Environmental Era.” Enterprise and Society 8(2) (June 2007), pp. 348-374.
“Learning from History or from Nature, or Both? Recycling Networks and their Metaphors in Early Industrialization.” Progress in Industrial Ecology, vol. 2, no. 1, (April 2005), pp. 19-34.
“Industrial Symbiosis: The Case for Market Coordination,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol 12, no. 8-10 (October-December 2004), pp. 1099-1110.
“On the Failure of Socialist Economies to ‘Close the Loop’ on Industrial Waste: Insights from the Austrian Critique of Planning” (with Sanford Ikeda), Environmental Politics, vol. 12, no. 3 (Autumn 2003), pp. 102-122.
“Industrial Ecology and the Rediscovery of Inter-Firm Recycling Linkages: Historical Evidence and Policy Implications,” Industrial and Corporate Change, vol. 11, no. 5 (November 2002), pp. 1031-1057. (Selected as top environmental management paper and one of the top fifty management articles of 2002 by Emerald Management Reviews).
“Does it Pay to be Green? Some Historical Perspective,” Journal of Private Enterprise, vol. 17, no. 2 (Spring 2002), pp. 20-36. Reprint in Sustainable Development: Promoting Progress or Perpetuating Poverty?, Julian Morris, editor, Profile Books, 2002, pp. 44-54.
“Regional Development and Inter-Industry Recycling Linkages: Some Historical Perspective,” Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, vol. 14, no. 1 (Spring 2002), pp. 49-65.
“Cities and Industrial Symbiosis: Some Historical Perspective and Policy Implications,” Journal of Industrial Ecology, vol. 5, no. 4 (Fall 2001), pp. 29-44.
“Eco-Industrial Parks: The Case for Private Planning,” The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy, vol. 5, no. 3 (Winter 2001), pp. 345-371.
“Market Processes and the Closing of ‘Industrial Loops’: A Historical Reappraisal,” Journal of Industrial Ecology, vol. 4, no.1 (Fall 2000), pp. 29-43.
> Book Chapters
“‘Business as Usual’ in the Industrial Age: (Relatively) Lean, Green and Eco-Efficient?” (with Karen Lam). In Industrial Ecology: Concepts and Practices, Asis Kumar Pain and Somnath Hazra, editors, ICFAI (Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India) 2008.
“Ordre spontané et recyclage industriel: un survol historique.” In Les déchets. Droits de propriété, économie et environnement, Max Falque, Henri Lamotte et Jean-François Saglio (editors), Bruylant, 2006, pp.
351-376.
“Eco-Industrial Parks: The Case for Private Planning.” In Re-Thinking Green. Alternative to Environmental Bureaucracy, Robert Higgs and Carl P. Close, editors, The Independent Institute, 2005, pp. 297-324.
“Eco-Industrial Parks: The Case for Private Planning.” In Incentives and Conservation: The Next Generation of Environmentalists, Dan Benjamin, editor, The Property and Environment Research Centre, 2004, pp. 3-32.
> Book Reviews
“La main invisible a-t-elle le pouce vert? Réplique.” Le carnet de Techniques & Culture (October 18, 2017) (with Erwan Queinnec).
“Editorial article: Historical Perspective on Industrial Waste Recovery.” Progress in Industrial Ecology 3 (4): 2006. pp. 273-279.
Review of Robert U. Ayres and Leslie W. Ayres’ A Handbook of Industrial Ecology (Edward Elgar, 2002) and Penny Allen, Christophe Bonazzi and David Gee’s Metaphors for Change. Partnerships, Tools and Civic Actions for Sustainability (Greenleaf Publishing, 2001), Knowledge, Technology & Policy, vol. 16, no. 1 (Spring 2003), pp. 130-134.
• Other publications
“The Circular Economy: (Re)discovering the Free Market.” Fraser Institute (February 2003).
“Historical Perspective on Industrial Waste Recycling.” Progress in Industrial Ecology, vol. 3, no. 4 (2006).
“Forget ‘Unfettered’ Markets… It is Unfettered Governments that are No Friends to the Environment” (with Andrew Reed), C2C: Canada’s Journal of Ideas, vol. 3, no. 1 (July 2009), pp. 8-17. (PDF version)
“The Invisible Green Hand” (with Andrew Reed). Mercatus Policy Series, Policy Primer No. 7, October 2008.
Concilier profits et environnement: le recyclage des déchets industriels dans une économie de marché [in English: Reconciling Profits and Sustainable Development: Industrial Waste Recycling in Market Economies], Institut économique de Montréal, Research Paper, April 2005.
Reconciling Profits and Sustainable Development: Industrial Waste Recycling in Market Economies, Montreal Economic Institute, Research Note, April 2005.
“The Secret Past of Recycling,” PERC Reports, September 1999.
• Video
“TASC 2012 – Pierre Desrochers – Squandered Profit Opportunities?” Some Historical Perspective on Industrial Waste and the Porter Hypothesis by Pierre Desrochers and Colleen E. Haight.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. –H.L. Mencken
BUSINESS-UNIVERSITY INTERFACE AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
I developed an interest in intellectual property while studying individual inventors and various aspects of university-industry technology transfer.
• Academic publications
> Journal Articles
“Truth for Its Own Sake: Academic Culture and Technology Transfer at Johns Hopkins University” (with Maryann Feldman), Minerva, vol 42, no. 2 (Summer 2004), pp. 105-126.
“Research Universities and Local Start-Up Development: Lessons from the Johns Hopkins University” (with Maryann Feldman), Industry and Innovation, vol. 10, no. 1 (March 2003), pp. 5-24.
“Excludability, Creativity and the Case Against the Patent System,” Economic Affairs, vol. 20, no. 3 (September 2000), pp. 14-16.
“On the Abuse of Patents as Economic Indicators,” The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, vol. 1, no. 4 (Winter 1998), pp. 51-74.
> Book Chapters
“Knowledge for the World: A Brief History of Commercialization at Johns Hopkins University” (with Maryann Feldman and Janet Bercovitz).
In Tom Allen and Rory O’Shea (eds), Building Technology Transfer within Research Universities: An Entrepreneurial Approach. Cambridge University Press, 2014, pp. 156-191.
> Book Reviews
Review of Sex, Science and Profits by Terence Kealey (William Heinemann, 2008). Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 1, issue 3 (Summer 2009), pp.111-114.
Review of Ivory Tower and Industrial Innovation. University-Industry Technology Transfer Before and After the Bayh-Dole Act by David C. Mowery, Richard R. Nelson, Bhaven N. Sampat, and Arvids A. Ziedonis (eds) (Stanford University Press, 2004). Canadian Journal of Regional Science, vol. 28, no. 2 (Summer 2005), pp. 405-407.
Review of Tibor R. Machan’s Liberty and Research and Development (Hoover Institution Press, 2002), Knowledge, Technology & Policy, vol. 16, no. 2 (Summer 2003), pp. 103-107.
Review of Terence Kealey’s The Economic Laws of Scientific Research (St Martin’s Press, 1997), Knowledge, Technology & Policy, vol. 13, no. 4 (Fall 2000), pp. 117-120.
Life must be lived forward, but it can only be understood backwards. –Søren Kierkegaard
Author and activist Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) played a major role in my intellectual development. As I wrote for the “Books that Inspire Faculty” exhibit of UofT’s Robarts Library (October-December 2009),
Jacobs was the antithesis of the type of professional intellectual I was planning to become as an undergraduate student: highly specialized and writing only for a small audience of similarly trained individuals. Because she had no professional credentials, Jacobs had no compunction to borrow, break down and recombine ideas and insights from an incredibly wide array of individuals, perspectives, and disciplines in order to understand why some cities grow while others stagnate and decay. While her lack of expertise did lead her astray on some issues, she was able to shed new light on old problems and suggest highly original departures from the then conventional wisdom among experts. Jacobs’s book eventually led me to that most interdisciplinary of academic homes, geography, where I was given a free rein to borrow and contribute to a wide variety of disciplines.
Resources on Jane Jacobs life and work.
> Journal Articles
“Jane Jacobs as Spontaneous Economic Order Methodologist: Part 2: Metaphors and Methods” (with Joanna Szurmak), Cosmos + Taxis: Studies in Emergent Order and Organization, vol. 4, no. 2 (2017), pp. 21-48.
“Jane Jacobs as Spontaneous Economic Order Methodologist: Part 1: Intellectual Apprenticeship” (with Joanna Szurmak), Cosmos + Taxis: Studies in Emergent Order and Organization, vol. 4, no. 2 (2017), pp. 2-20.
“Opening up the ‘Jacobs Spillovers’ black box: local diversity, creativity and the processes underlying new combinations” (with Samuli Leppälä), Journal of Economic Geography, vol. 11, no. 5 (September 2011), pp. 843-863.
“The Death and Life of a Reluctant Urban Icon.” A Review Essay on Jane Jacobs: Urban Visionary by Alice Sparberg Alexiou (Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006). Journal of Libertarian Studies, vol. 21, no. 3 (Fall 2007), pp. 115-36.
“Cities and the Economic Development of Nations: An Essay on Jane Jacobs’ Contribution to Economic Theory” (with Gert-Jan Hospers), Canadian Journal of Regional Science, vol. 30, no. 1 (Spring 2007), pp. 115-130.
> Book chapters
“Rethinking ‘Jacobs Spillovers,’ or How Diverse Cities Actually Make Individuals more Creative and Economically Successful” (with Samuli Leppälä). In Stephen A. Goldsmith and Lynne Elizabeth (eds), What We See. Advancing the Observations of Jane Jacobs, Oakland (CA): New Village Press, 2010, pp. 287-296.
“Jane Jacobs and the Economy of Cities” (with Gert-Jan Hospers). In New Technologies, Networks and Governance Structures, Aloys Prinz, Albert E. Steenge and Nina Isegrei (editors), LIT Verlag, 2009, pp. 123-141.
> Shorter Papers
“Jane Jacobs. Filosoof van stad, economie en samenleving.” AO (Actuele Onderwerpen), 2007, 25 pages (with Gert-Jan Hospers) [in Dutch].
> Book Reviews
Review of Eyes on the Street. The Life of Jane Jacobs by Robert Kanigel (Alfred A. Knopf, 2016) and Becoming Jane Jacobs by Peter Laurence (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016). Urban Geography, vol. 39, no. 6 (2018), pp. 963-967.
Review of The Urban Wisdom of Jane Jacobs edited by Sandra Hirt (ed). Routledge. 2012), Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, volume 40, no. 4 (June 2013), pp. 758-759.
Review of Jane Jacobs’ The Nature of Economies (Modern Library/Random House, 2000), The Review of Austrian Economics, vol.13, no. 2 (September 2000), pp. 229-232.
I am not a donkey and I don’t have a field. –Max Weber
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
I have written about how market incentives and institutions have historically promoted what is now referred to as sustainable development. I have also researched the history of Promethean (or anti-Malthusian) ideas. My policy writings have typically focused on various segments of the Canadian energy sector.
• Books
Desrochers, Pierre and Joanna Szurmak. 2018. Population Bombed! Exploding the Link Between Overpopulation and Climate Change. Global Warming Policy Foundation.
Silent Spring at 50: The False Crisis of Rachel Carson. Cato Institute (September 2012) (co-edited with Roger Meiners and Andrew P. Morriss)
• Academic publications
> Journal Articles
“Care to Wager Again? An Appraisal of Paul Ehrlich’s Counter-wager Offer to Julian Simon, Part 2: Critical Analysis.” (with Joanna Szurmak and Vincent Geloso), Social Science Quarterly, vol. 102, no. 2 (2021), pp. 808-829.
“Care to Wager Again? An Appraisal of Paul Ehrlich’s Counter-bet Offer to Julian Simon, Part 1: Outcomes.” (with Joanna Szurmak and Vincent Geloso), Social Science Quarterly, vol. 102, no. 2 (2021), pp. 786-807.
“The Paradoxical Malthusian. A Promethean Perspective on Vaclav Smil’s Growth: From Microorganisms to Megacities (MIT Press, 2019) and Energy and Civilization: A History (MIT Press, 2017).” Energies, vol. 13, no. 20 (2020), article 5306 (Non-gated bibliography weblinks).
“Snatching the Wrong Conclusions from the Jaws of Defeat: A Historical/Resourceship Perspective on Paul Sabin’s The Bet: Paul Ehrlich, Julian Simon, and Our Gamble over Earth’s Future (Yale University Press, 2013), Part 2: The Wager: Protagonists and Lessons.” (1st author, with Vincent Geloso), New Perspectives on Political Economy, vol. 12, no. 1-2 (2016), pp. 42-64.
“Snatching the Wrong Conclusions from the Jaws of Defeat: A Historical/Resourceship Perspective on Paul Sabin’s The Bet: Paul Ehrlich, Julian Simon, and Our Gamble over Earth’s Future (Yale University Press, 2013). Part 1: The Missing History of Thought: Depletionism vs Resourceship.” (1st author, with Vincent Geloso), New Perspectives on Political Economy, vol. 12, no. 1-2 (2016), pp. 5-41.
“Squandered Profit Opportunities? Some Historical Perspective on Wasteful Industrial Behavior and the Porter Hypothesis” (with Colleen Haight). Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol. 92 (November 2014), pp. 179-189.
“The environmental responsibility of business is to increase its profits (by creating value within the bounds of private property rights).” Industrial and Corporate Change, vol. 19, no 1 (February 2010), pp. 161-204.
“The Post War Intellectual Roots of the Population Bomb. Fairfield Osborn’s Our Plundered Planet and William Vogt’s Road to Survival in Retrospect” (with Christine Hoffbauer). Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 1, issue 3 (Summer 2009), pp. 73-97.
“Did the Invisible Hand Need a Regulatory Glove to Develop a Green Thumb? Some Historical Perspective on Market Incentives, Win-Win Innovations and the Porter Hypothesis.” Environmental and Resource Economics, vol. 41, no. 4 (December 2008), pp. 519-539.
“Natural Capitalist’s Indictment of Traditional Capitalism: A Reappraisal,” Business Strategy and the Environment, vol. 11, no. 4 (July/August 2002), pp. 203-220.
“Prices, Property and Sustainability: Toward a More Positive Assessment of Past Practices and Institutions.” International Journal of Politics and Ethics, vol. 1, no. 4 (Winter 2001), pp. 279-293.
“Back to the Future: A Review Essay of Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins’ Natural Capitalism,” Knowledge, Technology & Policy, vol. 14, no. 1 (Spring 2001), pp. 103-113.
> Book Chapters
“The Environmental Benefits of Long-Distance Trade: Insights from the History of By-Product Development” (with Joanna Szurmak). In Megan E. Jenkins, Randy T Simmons, and Camille H. Wardle (eds). The Environmental Optimism of Elinor Ostrom. Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University, 2020, pp. 173-208.
“Population Growth and the Governance of Complex Institutions: People Are More Than Mouths to Feed” (with Joanna Szurmak). In Megan E. Jenkins, Randy T Simmons, and Camille H. Wardle (eds). The Environmental Optimism of Elinor Ostrom. Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University, 2020, pp. 91-147.
“Can Entrepreneurship be Sustainable without being Sustainability-driven? Some Historical Perspective.” (with Erwan Quéinnec). In Sabri Boubaker, Douglas Cumming and Duc Khuong Nguyen. Research Handbook of Finance and Sustainability, Edward Elgar, 2018, pp. 160-178.
“Silent Spring at 50” (chapter 1) (with Roger Meiners and Andrew P. Morriss) in Silent Spring at 50: The False Crises of Rachel Carson, Cato Institute (September 2012) (with Roger Meiners and Andrew P. Morriss).
“The Selective Science of Silent Spring: Birds, Pesticides, and Alternatives to Pesticides.” (with Hiroko Shimizu). In Roger Meiners, Pierre Desrochers and Andrew Morris (editors). Silent Spring at 50. The False Crises of Rachel Carson. Cato Institute, 2012, pp. 97-117
“The Intellectual Groundwaters of Silent Spring: Rethinking Rachel Carson’s Place in the History of American Environmental Thought” (with Hiroko Shimizu). In Roger Meiners, Pierre Desrochers and Andrew Morris (editors). Silent Spring at 50. The False Crises of Rachel Carson. Cato Institute, 2012, pp. 37-60.
“Does it Pay to be Green? Some Historical Perspective.” In Sustainable Development: Promoting Progress or Perpetuating Poverty?, Julian Morris, editor, Profile Books, 2002, pp. 44-54.
“Prices, Property and Sustainability: Toward a More Positive Assessment of Past Practices and Institutions.” In Debating Environmental Regimes: Looking Forward, Looking Back, Patrick Hayden, Tom Lansford, Bryan Hilliard and J. L. Walsh editors, Nova Science Publishers, 2002, pp. 141-154.
“The Archipel Project: A Missed Opportunity?” (with Éric Duhaime). In Practising Sustainable Water Management: Canadian and International Experiences, Dan Shrubsole and Bruce Mitchell, editors, Cambridge, Ontario: Canadian Water Resources Association, 1997, pp. 155-166. [in French]
> Book Reviews
Review of The Economics and Politics of Climate Change by Dieter Helm and Cameron Hepburn (eds) (Oxford University Press, 2011/2009). Review of Economic Philosophy, volume 14, no. 1 (Summer 2013), pp. 125-129.
Review of The False Promise of Green Energy by Roger E. Meiners, Andrew Morriss, William T. Bogart, Andrew Dorchak (Cato Institute). The Independent Review, volume 16, no. 4 (Spring 2012), pp. 614-617.
Review of Electric Choices. Deregulation and the Future of Electric Power by Andrew N. Kleit (ed.) Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc and Independent Institute, 2007, Canadian Geographer, vol. 51, no. 4 (Winter 2007), pp. 501-502.
Review of Wilfred Beckerman’s A Poverty of Reason: Sustainable Development and Economic Growth (Independent Institute, 2002), The Canadian Geographer, vol. 50, no. 2 (June 2006), pp. 265-266.
Review of Robert L. Bradley, Jr. and Richard W. Fulmer’s Energy, The Master Resource (Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 2004), The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, vol. 8, no. 3 (Fall 2005), pp. 93-95.
• Policy Papers
“How Banning Carbon Fuels and Synthetic Products Will Hurt the Environment.” Fraser Institute (March 2023).
“Generating Electricity in Canada from Wind and Sunlight: Is Getting Less for more Better than Getting More for Less?” (with Andrew Reed). Fraser Institute (July 2019).
“L’énergie : par le marché plutôt que par l’État.” Institut Coppet (June 21, 2018).
“Blowing Hot Air on the Wrong Target? A Critique of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement in Higher Education.” (with Hiroko Shimizu), Frontier Centre for Public Policy (July 2016).
“Are Quebec’s Forests Threatened?” (with Jasmin Guénette), Montreal Economic Institute, Economic Note, August 14 2014 (French version).
“The Economics of Petroleum Refining: Understanding the business of processing crude oil into fuels and other value added products.”
Canadian Fuels Association (December 2013) (with Philip Cross and Hiroko Shimizu).
“Innovation and the greening of Alberta’s oil sands” (with Hiroko Shimizu), Montreal Economic Institute, Research Paper, October 11, 2012.
“Comment l’innovation rend les sables bitumineux de l’Alberta plus verts” (with Hiroko Shimizu), Institut économique de Montréal, Cahier de recherche, 11 octobre 2012.
Comment la recherche du profit améliore la qualité de l’environnement [In English: Profitability and Sustainable Development: Are They Really Mutually Exclusive] Research Paper, Institut économique de Montréal, April 2003.
Comment assurer le développement durable de nos forêts? [in English: Institutions and Sustainable Forestry Practices]. Research Paper, Institut économique de Montréal, March 2002.
• Video
Université d’Économie Autrichienne 2014 – Pauvreté et développement durable (Octobre 2014).
Université d’Économie Autrichienne 2014 – Énergie et pauvreté (Octobre 2014).
Shaftesbury Luncheon talk (John Locke Foundation, Raleigh, North Carolina), “The Environmental Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits,” April 12, 2010.
Toronto Liberty Seminar 2008 (University of Toronto): Environmental Responsibility and Corporate Profit
Les enjeux du Protocole de Kyoto et des changements climatiques. Presentation in French before Toronto’s Canadian Club, broadcasted on CPAC (May 16, 2006)
There is no opinion, however absurd, which men will not readily embrace as soon as they can be brought to the conviction that it is generally adopted. –Schopenhauer
ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, URBAN STUDIES AND HOUSING POLICY
I have written policy pieces on topics closely related to my formal academic training, including transportation and housing policy.
Shimizu, Hiroko and Pierre Desrochers. 2015. Speed or Greed: Does Automated Traffic Enforcement Improve Safety or Generate Revenue? Frontier Centre for Public Policy (December).
Quelques mythes sur les causes de la crise du logement [in English: Some Myths about the Quebec Housing Shortage] Research Paper, Institut économique de Montréal, May 2003.
Comment résoudre la crise du logement au Québec? [in English: How to Solve the Quebec Housing Crisis?] Research Paper, Institut économique de Montréal, July 2002.
> Book Reviews
Review of Car Nation: An Illustrated History of Canada’s Transformation behind the Wheel by Dimitry Anastakis (Toronto: James Lorimer and Company, 2008), Ontario History, vol. 101, no. 2 (Autumn 2009), pp. 265-266.
Review of Marc Levinson’s The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger (Princeton University Press, 2006), Independent Review, vol. 12, no. 1, (Summer 2007), pp. 146-149.
Review of David Beito, Peter Gordon and Alexander Tabarrok’s The Voluntary City: Choice, Community and Civil Society (University of Michigan Press and Independent Institute, 2002), Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, vol. 7, no. 2 (Summer 2004), pp. 99-101.
It would be nice to have the luxury of being above the fray, striking a graceful stance and having all one’s dignity. But people with minority views don’t have such luxury. –Julian Simon
FOOD POLICY
I have challenged much activist research on the desirability of local food production and short supply chains.
Book
The Locavore’s Dilemma: In Praise of the 10,000-mile Diet, PublicAffairs (June 5, 2012) .
Refereed Publications
“Supply Management and Household Poverty in Canada” (with Vincent Geloso and Alexandre Moreau), International Review of Economics – Journal of Civil Economy, vol. 65, no. 2 (2018), pp. 231-240.
“Arguments contre la souveraineté alimentaire et l’agriculture de proximité: essai de synthèse historique” (with Hiroko Shimizu). Possibles, vol. 34, no. 1-2 (été 2010), pp. 191-228 (invited submission).
Book Chapters
“Lies, Damn Lies and Locavorism. Bringing some Truth in Advertising to the Canadian Local Food Debate.” In Charlene Elliott (ed) How Canadians Communicate VI: Food Promotion, Consumption, and Controversy. Athabasca University Press, 2016, pp. 229- 250.
“A Critique of the ‘Food Miles’ Perspective.” In Max Falque and Henri Lamotte (eds). Climate Change and Air Pollution: Property Rights, Economics and Environment. Brussels: Bruylant, pp. 129-146.
Policy Papers
“The Myths of Local Food Policy – Lessons from the Economic and Social History of the Food System.” Fraser Institute (October 2019). (Executive Summary).
“The Miracle of Supermarkets – The Perspective of the Austrian School of Economics” (with Kevin Brookes). Montreal Economic Institute (November 2018) (French version).
“The health, environmental and economic benefits of palm oil” (with Hiroko Shimizu), Institut économique Molinari, Economic Note, September 13, 2012.
“L’huile de palme : avantages sanitaires, environnementaux et économiques” (with Hiroko Shimizu), Institut économique Molinari, Economic Note, September 13, 2012.
“L’autosuffisance alimentaire n’est pas gage de développement durable” (with Hiroko Shimizu), Institut économique Molinari, Economic Note, October 7, 2010.
“L’autosuffisance alimentaire n’est pas gage de développement durable” (with Hiroko Shimizu), Institut économique Molinari, Research Paper, October 7, 2010.
Desrochers, P. and H. Shimizu. 2010. “L’achat local de nourriture sauvera-t-il la planète?” Institut économique de Montréal, Note économique, February 16.
“Yes We Have No Bananas: A Critique of the Food Mile Perspective” (with Hiroko Shimizu). Mercatus Policy Series, Policy Primer No. 8, October 2008.
Book Reviews
Review of Animal Cities: Beastly Urban Histories by Peter Atkins (ed) (Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2012. Historical Geography (2013): 180-182.
Video
“Long Distance Trade and Food Security.” Canadian Regional Science Association Virtual Conference (December 16, 2013).
“La souveraineté alimentaire contre le développement durable.” Presentation made before the Réseau Liberté Québec (March 3, 2013).
“In Praise of the 10,000-Mile Diet: How the Globalized Food Supply Chain Benefits our Economy and Environment.” Wheaton College, February 22, 2012.
“In Praise of the 10,000 miles diet” Conference: Rebuilding the American Economy – One Heirloom Tomato at a Time, Woodrow Wilson Center (Princeton University), March 4, 2011.
Shaftesbury Luncheon talk (John Locke Foundation, Raleigh, North Carolina), “In Praise of the 10,000 mile diet: The Case against ‘Buy Local’ Food Initiatives,” March 08, 2010.
Environmental Policy Seminar 2009 (University of Toronto Mississauga): A Critique of the Food Miles Perspective.
OTHERS
“What is So Austrian About Austrian Economics?” Advances in Austrian Economics, vol. 14 (2010) (with Steven Horwitz and Roger Koppl).
On Peer Review and Consensus
HUMOUR
On Peer Review and Consensus
SERIOUS STUFF
Begley, Sharon. 2007. “A Research Revolution.” Newsweek Web Exclusive, November 4.
Furedi, Frank. 2010. “Turning peer review into modern-day holy scripture.” Spiked.com, 23 February.
Higgs, Robert. 2007. “Peer Review and Scientific Consensuss.” Peer-to-Peer, September 17.
Klein, Daniel B. & Charlotta Stern. 2007. “Groupthink in Academia: Majoritarian Departmental Politics and the Professional Pyramid.” November 14. Prepared for the American Enterprise Institute Conference, “Reforming the Politically Correct University.”
O’Neill, Brendan. 2010. “We’ll only listen to you if youve been peer-reviewed.” Spiked, August 4.
On Academic Work
HUMOR
PHD COMICS ON
The Scientific Vs Actual Research Method
Scholarship in the Humanities
Beware the Profzi Scheme
A BRIEF GUIDE TO SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE*
The following phrases, frequently found in technical writings, are defined below for your enlightenment.
| Phrase | Translation |
| It has been long known…………………. | I haven’t bothered to check the references |
| It is known………………………………….. | I believe |
| It is believed………………………………… | I think |
| It is generally believed……………………. | My colleagues and I think |
| There has been some discussion……. | Nobody agrees with me |
| It can be shown……………………………. | Take my word for it |
| It is proven…………………………………… | It agrees with something mathematical |
| Of great theoretical importance……… | I find it interesting |
| Of great practical importance………… | This justifies my employment |
| Of great historical importance……….. | This ought to make me famous |
| Some samples were chosen for study… | The others didn’t make sense |
| Typical results are shown……………… | The best results are shown |
| Correct within order of magnitude….. | Wrong |
| The values were obtained empirically… | The values were obtained by accident |
| The results are inconclusive…………… | The results seem to disprove my hypothesis |
| Additional work is required…………….. | Someone else can work out the details |
| It might be argued that………………….. | I have a good answer to this objection |
| The investigations proved rewarding… | My grant has been renewed |
*From Benny Peiser’s CCNet Website, January 26, 2006.
On Academic Work
Serious Stuff
Lee Hoyz, Robert. 2007. “Most Science Studies Appear to Be Tainted By Sloppy Analysis.” The Wall Street Journal, September 14, p. B1.
Toor, Rachel. 2010. “Bad Writing and Bad Thinking.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 15.