Download or read book From GDP to Sustainable Wellbeing written by Paul Allin and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-08-27 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is about the function and use of official statistics. It welcomes the aspiration for official statistics to be an indispensable element in the information system of a democratic society, serving the government, the economy and the public with data about the economic, demographic, social and environmental situation. The book identifies the political role of official statisticians, who decided what gets measured as well as how it is measured. While thousands of official statistics are published every year, and some are quoted by politicians, used by policy-makers or reported in the media, the authors observe that, in the main, official statistics do not feature much in everyday lives of people and businesses. The book concludes with suggestions for more that should be done, especially in the context of improving wellbeing and helping meet the worldwide set of sustainable development goals set for 2030.

Download or read book Replacing GDP by 2030 written by Rutger Hoekstra and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-30 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proposes an new strategy for the beyond-GDP community which aims to replace the economic paradigm centred on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030.

Download or read book Sustainable Wellbeing Futures written by Robert Costanza and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2020-05-29 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecological economics can help create the future that most people want – a future that is prosperous, just, equitable and sustainable. This forward-thinking book lays out an alternative approach that places the sustainable wellbeing of humans and the rest of nature as the overarching goal. Each of the book’s chapters, written by a diverse collection of scholars and practitioners, outlines a research and action agenda for how this future can look and possible actions for its realisation.

Download or read book Wellbeing Economy written by Lorenzo Fioramonti and published by Pan Macmillan South africa. This book was released on 2017-08-04 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economic growth is a constant mantra of politicians, economists and the media. Few understand what it is, but they love and follow it blindly. The reality is that since the global financial crisis, growth has vanished in the more industrialised economies and in the so-called developing countries. Politicians may be panicking, but is this really a bad thing? Using real-life examples and innovative research, acclaimed political economist Lorenzo Fioramonti lays bare society’s perverse obsession with economic growth by showing its many flaws, paradoxes and inconsistencies. He argues that the pursuit of growth often results in more losses than gains and in damage, inequalities and conflicts. By breaking free from the growth mantra, we can build a better society that puts the wellbeing of all at its centre. A wellbeing economy would have tremendous impact on everything we do, boosting small businesses and empowering citizens as the collective leaders of tomorrow. Wellbeing Economy is a manifesto for radical change in South Africa and beyond.

Download or read book Beyond GDP written by Marc Fleurbaey and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-04-11 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In spite of recurrent criticism and an impressive production of alternative indicators by scholars and NGOs, GDP remains the central indicator of countries' success. This book revisits the foundations of indicators of social welfare, and critically examines the four main alternatives to GDP that have been proposed: composite indicators, subjective well-being indexes, capabilities (the underlying philosophy of the Human Development Index), and equivalent incomes. Its provocative thesis is that the problem with GDP is not that it uses a monetary metric but that it focuses on a narrow set of aspects of individual lives. It is actually possible to build an alternative, more comprehensive, monetary indicator that takes income as its first benchmark and adds or subtracts corrections that represent the benefit or cost of non-market aspects of individual lives. Such a measure can respect the values and preferences of the people and give as much weight as they do to the non-market dimensions. A further provocative idea is that, in contrast, most of the currently available alternative indicators, including subjective well-being indexes, are not as respectful of people's values because, like GDP, they are too narrow and give specific weights to the various dimensions of life in a more uniform way, without taking account of the diversity of views on life in the population. The popular attraction that such alternative indicators derive from being non-monetary is therefore based on equivocation. Moreover, it is argued in this book that "greening" GDP and relative indicators is not the proper way to incorporate sustainability concerns. Sustainability involves predicting possible future paths, therefore different indicators than those assessing the current situation. While various indicators have been popular (adjusted net savings, ecological footprint), none of them involves the necessary forecasting effort that a proper evaluation of possible futures requires.

Download or read book Heat Greed and Human Need written by Ian Gough and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2017-10-27 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book builds an essential bridge between climate change and social policy. Combining ethics and human need theory with political economy and climate science, it offers a long-term, interdisciplinary analysis of the prospects for sustainable development and social justice. Beyond ‘green growth’ (which assumes an unprecedented rise in the emissions efficiency of production) it envisages two further policy stages vital for rich countries: a progressive ‘recomposition’ of consumption, and a post-growth ceiling on demand. An essential resource for scholars and policymakers.

Download or read book Postgrowth and Wellbeing written by Milena Büchs and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-07-20 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a detailed and critical discussion about how human wellbeing can be maintained and improved in a postgrowth era. It highlights the close links between economic growth, market capitalism, and the welfare state demonstrating that, in many ways, wellbeing outcomes currently depend on the growth paradigm. Here the authors argue that notions of basic human needs deserve greater emphasis in debates on postgrowth because they are more compatible with limits to growth. Drawing on theories of social practices, the book explores structural barriers to transitions to a postgrowth society, and ends with suggestions for policies and institutions that could support wellbeing in the context of postgrowth. This thought-provoking work makes a valuable contribution to debates surrounding climate change, sustainability, welfare states and inequality and will appeal to students and scholars of social policy, sociology, political science, economics, political ecology and human geography.

Download or read book Towards Sustainable Well Being written by Anders Hayden and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2022-08-03 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Towards Sustainable Well-Being examines existing efforts and emerging possibilities to improve upon gross domestic product as the dominant indicator of economic and social performance. Contributions from leading international and Canadian researchers in the field of beyond-GDP measurement offer a rich range of perspectives on alternative ways to measure well-being and sustainability, along with lessons from around the world on how to bring those metrics into the policy process. Key topics include the policy and political impacts of major beyond-GDP measurement initiatives; the most promising possibilities and policy applications for beyond-GDP measurement; key barriers to introducing beyond-GDP metrics; and complementary measures to ensure new measurements are not merely calculated but taken into account in policymaking. The book highlights a distinction between a reformist beyond-GDP vision, which seeks to improve policymaking and quality of life within existing political and economic institutions, and a transformative vision aiming for more fundamental change including a move beyond economic growth. Illustrating the many advances that have occurred in Canada and internationally, Towards Sustainable Well-Being proposes next steps for both the reformist and transformative visions, as well as possible common ground between them in the pursuit of sustainable well-being.

Download or read book The Case for Degrowth written by Susan Paulson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-09-29 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The relentless pursuit of economic growth is the defining characteristic of contemporary societies. Yet it benefits few and demands monstrous social and ecological sacrifice. Is there a viable alternative? How can we halt the endless quest to grow global production and consumption and instead secure socio-ecological conditions that support lives worth living for all? In this compelling book, leading experts Giorgos Kallis, Susan Paulson, Giacomo D’Alisa and Federico Demaria make the case for degrowth - living well with less, by living differently, prioritizing wellbeing, equity and sustainability. Drawing on emerging initiatives and enduring traditions around the world, they advance a radical degrowth vision and outline policies to shape work and care, income and investment that avoid exploitative and unsustainable practices. Degrowth, they argue, can be achieved through transformative strategies that allow societies to slow down by design, not disaster. Essential reading for all concerned citizens, policy-makers, and students, this book will be an important contribution to one of the thorniest and most pressing debates of our era.

Download or read book Well being Sustainability and Social Development written by Harry Lintsen and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-06-14 with total page 586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book examines more than two centuries of societal development using novel historical and statistical approaches. It applies the well-being monitor developed by Statistics Netherlands that has been endorsed by a significant part of the international, statistical community. It features The Netherlands as a case study, which is an especially interesting example; although it was one of the world’s richest countries around 1850, extreme poverty and inequality were significant problems of well-being at the time. Monitors of 1850, 1910, 1970 and 2015 depict the changes in three dimensions of well-being: the quality of life 'here and now', 'later' and 'elsewhere'. The analysis of two centuries shows the solutions to the extreme poverty problem and the appearance of new sustainability problems, especially in domestic and foreign ecological systems. The study also reveals the importance of natural capital: soil, air, water and subsoil resources, showing their relation with the social structure of the ‘here and now ́. Treatment and trade of natural resources also impacted on the quality of life ‘later’ and ‘elsewhere.’ Further, the book illustrates the role of natural capital by dividing the capital into three types of raw materials and concomitant material flows: bio-raw materials, mineral and fossil subsoil resources. Additionally, the analysis of the institutional context identifies the key roles of social groups in well-being development. The book ends with an assessment of the solutions and barriers offered by the historical anchoring of the well-being and sustainability issues. This unique analysis of well-being and sustainability and its institutional analysis appeals to historians, statisticians and policy makers.

Download or read book The Wellbeing of Nations written by and published by Island Press. This book was released on with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Produced in collaboration with the leading international organizations involved with sustainable development, this work is a reference for development and environmental policy professionals, as well as for students and scholars in environmental studies and international studies.

Download or read book Wellbeing Economics written by Paul Dalziel and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-09-11 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economists have long sought to maximise economic growth, believing this to be their best contribution to improving human welfare. That approach is not sustainable in the face of ongoing issues such as global climate change, environmental damage, rising inequality and enduring poverty. Alternatives must be found. This open access book addresses that challenge. It sets out a wellbeing economics framework that directly addresses fundamental issues affecting wellbeing outcomes. Drawing inspiration from the capabilities approach of Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen, the book demonstrates how persons can enhance prosperity through their own actions and through collaboration with others. The book examines national public policy, but its analysis also focuses on choices made by individuals, households, families, civil society, local government and the global community. It therefore offers important insights for anyone concerned with improving personal wellbeing and community prosperity.

Download or read book Sustainable Development Goals written by Pia Katila and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-12-12 with total page 653 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A global assessment of potential and anticipated impacts of efforts to achieve the SDGs on forests and related socio-economic systems. This title is available as Open Access via Cambridge Core.

Download or read book Fiscal Sustainability of Health Systems Bridging Health and Finance Perspectives written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2015-09-24 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The health systems we enjoy today, and expected medical advances in the future, will be difficult to finance from public resources without major reforms. Public health spending in OECD countries has grown rapidly over most of the last half century. These spending increases have contributed to ...

Download or read book Cultures of Sustainability and Wellbeing written by Paola Spinozzi and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-14 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cultures of Sustainability and Wellbeing: Theories, Histories and Policies examines and assesses the interdependence between sustainability and wellbeing by drawing attention to humans as producers and consumers in a post-human age. Why wellbeing ought to be regarded as essential to sustainable development is explored first from multifocal theoretical perspectives encompassing sociology, literary criticism and socioeconomics, second in relation to institutions and policies, and third with a focus on specific case studies across the world. Wellbeing and its sustainability are defined in terms of biological and cultural diversity; stages of advancement in science and technology; notions of citizenship and agency; geopolitical scenarios and environmental conditions. Wellbeing and sustainability call for enquiries into human capacities in ontological, epistemological and practical terms. A view of sustainability that revolves around material and immaterial wellbeing is based on the assumption that life quality, comfort, happiness, security, safety always posit humans as both recipients and agents. Risk and resilience in contemporary societies define the intrinsically human ability to make and consume, to act and adapt, driving the search for and fruition of wellbeing. How to sustain the dual process of exploitation and regeneration is a task that requires integrated approaches from the sciences and the humanities, jointly tracing a worldwide cartography with clear localisations. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers interested in sustainability through conceptual and empirical approaches including social theory, literary and cultural studies, environmental economics and human ecology, urbanism and cultural geography.

Download or read book EDUCONOMY written by Maria-Teresa Lepeley and published by IAP. This book was released on 2019-01-01 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investing in People is the world priority of the 21st century. The wellbeing of people is at the center of the agendas of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, UN, OECD, ILO and all major development organizations. But the concern for people is not new. The celebrated books of Economics Nobel Awardees Theodore Schultz’s Investing in People. The Economics of Population Quality and Gary Becker’s Human Capital were published decades ago and challenged the same human dilemma. Yet, with few exceptions, most countries are still struggling for effective formulas to put people at the center of development. The core issue is that investing in people means improving the quality of education for all. But the main problem is that countries continue to take education as an expense, not as an investment in people. National budgets consider education as a sunken cost, rather than as an investment expected to produce high returns to secure quality improvement as necessary condition for sustainability. Shortcomings are abundant but one thing is certain: unless the quality of education for all is placed front and center in development agendas, chances for progress in the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment are curtailed, human centered sustainability and wellbeing will be restrained and inequality will persist. The main problem it is not income inequality, it is education inequality. In the Knowledge Economy the human (as) resources formula is no longer working. Segmentation of the economy and education is probing increasingly counterproductive. The EDUCONOMY is a human centered structure for progress to optimize returns and minimize costs of investing in people. Gallup and Brandon Busteed coined the concept Educonomy to enhance the importance of quality in education backed up by extensive surveys and data bases. Lepeley’s EDUCONOMY. Unleashing Wellbeing and Human Centered Sustainable Development takes the discussion into new dimensions and addresses the complexity of the challenges. People are the DNA of Sustainable Development. Says Lepeley challenging old constructs and presenting innovative formulas pioneering human centered economics and economics of wellbeing that frame the Balanced Sustainable Development ESTE (economic, social, technology, environment) Model. ESTE is the product of the Educonomy built on three fundamental pillars: the Talent Economy, the Agility Economy and the Quality Economy convergent with demands of the Knowledge Economy. In the ESTE Model education is no longer a national expense, it is an investment that secures high rates of returns and social and economic inclusiveness anchored in quality standards for all.

Download or read book For Good Measure written by Joseph E. Stiglitz and published by The New Press. This book was released on 2019-11-19 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today's leading economists weigh in with a new "dashboard" of metrics for measuring our economic and social health "What we measure affects what we do. If we focus only on material well-being—on, say, the production of goods, rather than on health, education, and the environment—we become distorted in the same way that these measures are distorted." —Joseph E. Stiglitz A consensus has emerged among key experts that our conventional economic measures are out of sync with how most people live their lives. GDP, they argue, is a poor and outmoded measure of our well-being. The global movement to move beyond GDP has attracted some of the world's leading economists, statisticians, and social thinkers who have worked collectively to articulate new approaches to measuring economic well-being and social progress. In the decade since the 2008 economic crisis, these experts have come together to determine what indicators can actually tell us about people's lives. In the first book of its kind, leading economists from around the world, including Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez, Elizabeth Beasely, Jacob Hacker, François Bourguignon, Nora Lustig, Alan B. Krueger, and Joseph E. Stiglitz, describe a range of fascinating metrics—from economic insecurity and environmental sustainability to inequality of opportunity and levels of trust and resilience—that can be used to supplement the simplistic measure of gross domestic product, providing a far more nuanced and accurate account of societal health and well-being. This groundbreaking volume is sure to provide a major source of ideas and inspiration for one of the most important intellectual movements of our time.