On the normalization of dimensioned variables in ecological economics

Abstract

This essay reviews normalization and non-dimensionalization using canonical examples from economics and ecology. The key question we address is as follows: "whether or not the selected dimensional choice for a given expression has an operational meaning or relevance for the purpose [of] analysis" (Mayumi and Giampietro 2012, emphasis in original). We show that it is nontrivial to normalize dimensioned variables in analytically accurate models of economy-ecosystem interaction.