Global Development Institute Blog

Bina Agarwal, Professor of Development Economics and Environment at the Global Development Institute, was recently honoured with the 2023 Kenneth Boulding Award for her contributions to the field of ecological economics. This prestigious award commemorates the work of economist Kenneth E. Boulding, a renowned systems thinker who integrated social theory with the natural sciences and moral philosophy. 

Bina and David Barkin, Distinguished Professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (Mexico City), were jointly conferred the award for their outstanding research on environmental governance and social equity in developing countries.  

At a ceremony, held in the historic cloister of Santa Marta, Colombia, on October 28, 2023, as part of the 17th Biennial Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE), Bina presented a talk titled ‘A conversation with Kenneth Boulding’.  

At the same event, a prize named after Bina – The Bina Agarwal Prize for Young Scholars in Ecological Economics – was also presented. Established by ISEE to recognise outstanding contributions to the field, especially as relating to developing countries, this year’s winner was Federico Demaria at the University of Barcelona, for his work on waste management in the Global South, environmental conflicts and justice, and degrowth. 

Read her latest open access papers: