Joshua Farley is an ecological economist and Professor in Community Development & Applied Economics and Public Administration. He has previously served as program director at the School for Field Studies, Centre for Rainforest Studies; as Executive Director of the University of Maryland International Institute for Ecological Economics; as adjunct faculty and licensed examiner at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill; as Fulbright fellow and visiting professor at the Federal Universities of Santa Catarina (UFSC) and Bahia (UFBA); and as President of the International Society for Ecological Economics.

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His broad research interests focus on the design of economic institutions capable of balancing what is biophysically possible with what is socially, psychologically and ethically desirable.  His recent research focuses on the economics of essential resources (e.g. food, energy, water, ecosystem services, information), emphasizing their poor fit with market economies and proposing alternative allocation mechanisms; the Commons; redesigning financial and monetary systems for a just and sustainable economy; agroecology, farmer livelihoods and ecosystem services in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest; harnessing humanity’s capacity for cooperation and cultural evolution to address prisoner’s dilemmas; and transdisciplinary problem solving that integrates research and teaching.

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He is co-author with Herman Daly of Ecological Economics, Principles and Applications, 2nd ed. Island Press (2011).