Institutions, institutional changes and industrial policies for a circular economy

An increasing environmental awareness and the opportunity to generate pervasive and lasting economic benefits at local level have set the issue of circular economy at the top of the agenda of many governments. Many of these expectations risk not to be satisfied unless current institutions, based on the orthodox economic theory, are modified. The assumption is that relevant institutional changes are needed to establish a model of circular economy which is effective in both reducing the entropy of productive processes and in promoting development and wellbeing of different communities. In order to achieve this goal, institutional changes must concern a variety of aspects such as the fiscal system, education and training, savings and credit, business models, and labour organisation.