Laurent Parrot (CIRAD)

Approche par l’Alliance et agro-écologie, implications théoriques et pratiques pour une éthique du développement

My current research focuses on analyzing the economic performance of the horticultural sectors in the French West Indies, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean; and how behavioral sciences can apply to economic performance. This has led to what I have named as the Alliance Approach to economics. My work on agro-ecological innovations, as well as the contribution of behavioral and cognitive sciences in medicine, have influenced my view of the economic agent, i.e., the person, his household, the firm, and the government. Economics is not just about logistics, profit, or even shaping individual choices, it is also about living conditions and capabilities. A person-centered development ethic can contribute to reflections on the ends and means of economics. The Alliance Approach is based on the medical practice of the therapeutic alliance (or working alliance). The working alliance is a professional person-centered approach. It relies on technical skills and the recognition of the status of the person based on four principles: professionalism, empathy, genuineness, and human warmth. The application of these four principles reconciles and renews the way I look at economics, fieldwork, and development ethics. The Alliance Approach opens promising theoretical and operational research perspectives. For while it is, above all, a practice, the Alliance Approach can also become a theory and an ethic for sustainable develop.

Publications