Ecological economics has existed as a field for over 30 years. The field has since its inception strived to transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries and incorporates many substantially different perspectives. Despite continuous discussion about the fundamentals and direction of the field, ecological economists maintain a perception that ecological economics is at its core one field, although there are various approaches within it. The present study draws on the concept of disciplinary discourse to explore the field's perceived strengths and the values pursued through its research. I carried out interviews with editors and editorial board members of the journal Ecological Economics in order to investigate how actors in a central location expressed this discourse. Respondents hold that the field's strengths are its theoretical robustness, breadth, and open and dynamic nature. They also hold that the field should pursue the scientific values of consistency, societal relevance, and novelty. However, the operationalization of these values in the institutional and intellectual environment of ecological economics is underscoring tensions within the field, including the question of whether to enforce strict exclusionary boundaries against mainstream economic approaches.

生态经济学作为一个领域已经存在了 30 多年。该领域自成立以来一直致力于超越传统的学科界限，并融合了许多截然不同的观点。尽管对该领域的基本原理和方向不断进行讨论，生态经济学家仍然认为生态经济学是其核心领域，尽管其中有多种方法。本研究利用学科话语的概念来探索该领域的感知优势和通过其研究追求的价值观。我采访了《生态经济学》杂志的编辑和编委会成员，以调查中心位置的参与者如何表达这种话语。受访者认为该领域' 其优势在于其理论稳健性、广度以及开放性和动态性。他们还认为，该领域应该追求一致性、社会相关性和新颖性的科学价值。然而，这些价值观在生态经济学的制度和知识环境中的运作凸显了该领域内的紧张局势，包括是否对主流经济方法实施严格的排他性边界的问题。