Rationale for a physical account of economic activities

This article argues that quantification, selection and simplification of information helps to make analysis of problematic situations easy and to forecast with some degree of reliability. Neo-classical economics has attempted to quantify and simplify the real world, but some of its simplifications have severe limitations. For example, current growth theory does not recognise that the factors of production can change over time. Environmental services tend to be excluded. These simplifications cast doubt about the relevance of economic models as a forecasting tool.