Editing Ecological economics (section)

=== Allocation of resources ===
[[File:Uneconomic Growth diagram.jpg|thumb|The marginal costs of a growing economy may gradually exceed the marginal benefits, however measured.]]
[[Resource economics|Resource]] and neoclassical economics focus primarily on the efficient allocation of resources and less on the two other problems of importance to ecological economics: [[Distribution (economics)|distribution]] ([[equity (economics)|equity]]), and the scale of the economy relative to the ecosystems upon which it relies.<ref name="Daly">Daly, H. and Farley, J. 2004. ''Ecological Economics: Principles and Applications''. Washington: Island Press.</ref> Ecological economics makes a clear distinction between growth (quantitative increase in economic output) and development (qualitative improvement of the [[quality of life]]), while arguing that neoclassical economics confuses the two. Ecological economists point out that beyond modest levels, increased per-capita [[consumption (economics)|consumption]] (the typical economic measure of "standard of living") may not always lead to improvement in human well-being, but may have harmful effects on the environment and broader societal well-being. This situation is sometimes referred to as [[uneconomic growth]] (see diagram above).