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Ecological economics is largely about the ‘substantive’ (in ‘kind’) study of the economy, as opposed to a purely ‘formal’ economic analysis (in ‘money’). Following Kapp, Polanyi and others, this article argues that ‘substantive economics’ is interested in the biophysical and politico-institutional structure of the economy rather than in correct prices within a particular axiomatic conformity, as in ‘formal economics’. After outlining the history of the substantive vs. formal dichotomy, we point out that socio-metabolic analyses are ecological economics' most significant contribution towards substantive economics. The core of this article then compares what could be today's two best candidates for offering a distinctive foundation to ecological economics as substantive economics: Material and Energy Flows Analyses (MEFA) and Multi-Scale Integrated Analyses of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM). While MEFA …