Frederic B. Jennings, Jr., Ph.D.

Biographical sketch: I am a Massachusetts native, born in Boston and currently living in Ipswich and Framingham. I graduated from Milton Academy (1963), Harvard College (B.A. 1968 in economics magna cum laude), and Stanford University (M.A. 1980, Ph.D. 1985 in economics). I have taught economics (mostly microeconomics, at undergraduate and graduate levels) at Stanford University (1975-79), Tufts University (1979-83) and Bentley College (1985-87), and have worked as an economic consultant for Charles River Associates (1988-91) and Arthur Andersen (1991-92), after which I started my own economic consulting practice, EconoLogistics (1992-present).

In 1998, I started the Center for Ecological Economic and Ethical Education (CEEEE), under the auspices of which I have performed economic analyses, prepared reports, provided testimony in public hearings, and presented numerous papers in ecological economics (at USSEE, CANSEE, ISEE and other related conferences) during the last 9 years. My primary interests as an economist are in ecological, cultural, historical and institutional economics, with a focus on the notion of planning horizons and their role in ecologically interdependent systems. My recent work has explored the importance of complementarity in ecological applications and complex systems, in the new information economy, and in the academic community, yielding a demonstration that competition in these settings must fail, leading to a myopic culture due to perverse horizon effects.

Candidate Statement: I want to become more involved with USSEE and ISEE than I have been in the past. I would particularly like to see ecological economists develop and maintain more of a presence at the annual ASSA Meetings than we do currently. (I myself learned about ISEE through attending a talk by Dick Norgaard at these meetings many years ago.) As a nonacademic, I also would like to be sure that the diverse interests of nonacademic practitioners in ecological economics are adequately represented on the USSEE board.

My own belief is that ecological economics offers a far more comprehensive approach to economic analysis than neoclassical theory, and that there is a whole lot more we might do to promulgate an awareness of ecological economics among orthodox economists and other heterodox social theorists than we have accomplished thus far. I would welcome a chance to serve on the USSEE board to work with other board members to strengthen and promote the development of this worthy organization.