The preorder economy: coordinating supply and demand on the way to a sustainable future
by Conrad Stanley
International Journal of Environment, Workplace and Employment (IJEWE), Vol. 2, No. 2/3, 2006

Abstract: This paper argues that a large-scale coordination failure between supply and demand is partially to blame for the unsustainable aspects of our present market system. Overproduction, overconsumption and an unhealthy saturation of advertising all stem from the inability of our economy to adequately synchronise the preferences of society with the actual goods produced. This paper theorises that these environmentally harmful inefficiencies could be mitigated by implementing a 'preorder economy'. This new system would use the internet as the catalyst for establishing a revolutionary level of synthesis between producers and consumers at the design stage of product development so that supply would exactly match demand. The resulting efficiency gains would provide an assortment of benefits and significantly advance the goal of sustainability.

Online publication date: Wed, 11-Oct-2006

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