CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS article
Front. Behav. Econ.
Sec. Culture and Ethics
This article is part of the Research TopicCapitalism, Conflict, and Cooperation: In Honor of Herbert GintisView all 4 articles
Ecohesion: Operationalizing the link between social cohesion and ecological transformation
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- 2Universita Bocconi, Milan, Italy
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The concept of 'Ecohesion' offers a novel perspective on sustainable transitions by emphasizing social cohesion as a central element. Drawing inspiration from Herbert Gintis's combination of macro social dynamics and micro behavioral evidence, this framework integrates his theories on the interplay between social norms, endogenous preferences, and institutional dynamics. By identifying four fundamental social conditions—access to basic goods and services, decent jobs, time affluence, and social capital—Ecohesion provides an analytical lens to assess the sustainability and political feasibility of transition policies.
Keywords: Ecohesion, social cohesion, Sustainability transitions, Herbert Gintis, Agent-based modeling, Ecological macroeconomics, Time affluence, social capital
Received: 20 Jun 2025; Accepted: 26 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 D'Alessandro, Guarnieri and Proctor. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Simone D'Alessandro
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