Durable Economies

Leaking water infrastructures, heritage tourism, investments in artworks, failing electronics: Durability lies at the heart of a wide range of seemingly unrelated phenomena. In today's economies, which rest on ever-larger stocks of infrastructures, buildings, machinery and household goods, durable things are both a hugely significant source of wealth and a constant source of struggle. The contributors argue that a deeper engagement with durability is essential for reaching an understanding of how economies work; and for envisaging alternative economies built on principles of environmental stewardship and social justice. Placing durability at the core of economic analysis, this volume explores the work and tensions involved in the production and valuation of durability to outline a new agenda for more sustainable economies.

Melanie Jaeger-Erben (Prof. Dr. phil.), born in 1977, heads the department of Sociology of Technology and the Environment at the Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg. Her main research interests are social science technology research, sustainable production and consumption systems, and social innovation. Harald Wieser (PhD), born in 1990, is a senior researcher at the Austrian Institute for SME Research (KMU Forschung Austria). The trained ecological economist and economic sociologist did his doctorate at the University of Manchester. His research explores how policy can shape large-scale socio-economic transformations. Max Marwede (Dr.) is design lead at Fraunhofer-Institut für Zuverlässigkeit und Mikrointegration in Berlin. His Circular Design Team supports companies in designing sustainable products, services, and ecosystems and in developing new circular design tools and processes. In 2022, he obtained his PostDoc in the inter- and transdisciplinary Junior Research Group 'Obsolescence as a challenge for sustainability - causes and alternatives' at the Technische Universität Berlin. Florian Hofmann (Dr.) is a researcher and consultant at the Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg. His work at the department of Sociology of Technology and the Environment focuses on the circular economy and transitions to sustainable futures. From 2017 to 2022, he was a member of the inter- and transdisciplinary Junior Research Group 'Obsolescence as a challenge for sustainability - causes and alternatives' at the Technische Universität Berlin.