This book sheds light on both international and Canadian experiences of moving beyond GDP and bringing new ways to measure what matters into decisions about policy and societal priorities.
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.
Edited by:
Anders Hayden,
Céofride Gaudet,
Jeffrey Wilson
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 159mm,
Spine: 25mm
Weight: 600g
ISBN: 9781487507848
ISBN 10: 1487507844
Pages: 358
Publication Date: 19 October 2022
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface Abbreviations Introduction Anders Hayden, Céofride Gaudet, and Jeffrey Wilson Part One: Background and Visions 1. The Long Road Beyond GDP: Have We Finally Reached a Time for Breakthroughs? Anders Hayden and Jeffrey Wilson 2. Ten Years After: From SSF to HLEG, An Agenda for Well-Being Measurement in the Next Decade Martine Durand and Marco Mira d’Ercole 3. Measures for a New Economy: Shifting Power via Public Participation Katherine Trebeck and Julia Rodgers Part Two: International Experiences and Perspectives 4. Beyond GDP, Beyond Numbers: Bhutan’s Journey Towards Gross National Happiness Julia C. Kim and Amy MacKenzie 5. Wellbeing in British Politics and Policy Ian Bache 6. Integrating Well-Being Indicators in Budgetary Procedures: Four Shades of Sincerity Éloi Laurent 7. Beyond “Beyond GDP” in the EU: What’s Next? Brent Bleys and Géraldine Thiry 8. Contributions of the Genuine Progress Indicator to Measuring and Promoting Welfare Günseli Berik 9. Measuring What Matters: Policy Applications in New Zealand Tim Ng Part Three: Canadian Experiences and Perspectives 10. Beyond Dollars and Cents: The Canadian Index of Wellbeing and Nova Scotia Quality of Life Initiative Clay Dasilva and Anders Hayden 11. Building an Epidemiology of Happiness John F. Helliwell, David Gyarmati, Craig Joyce, and Heather Orpana 12. Wellbeing, Sustainability, and Progress: A Framework for Public and Policy Discourse and For Quantitative Decision-Making Using the Life Satisfaction Approach Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh 13. Measuring Comprehensive Wealth in Canada Rob Smith, Kieran McDougal, and Livia Bizikova 14. Time for a Reality Check: Lessons from Bhutan, Canada and New Zealand Ronald Colman Conclusion Anders Hayden, Céofride Gaudet, and Jeffrey Wilson Contributors Index
Anders Hayden is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Dalhousie University. Céofride Gaudet, a retired federal government economist and policy analyst, was the Public Servant in Residence at Dalhousie University’s School for Resource and Environmental Studies from 2017-2019. Jeffrey Wilson is an assistant professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise, and Development at the University of Waterloo.
Reviews for Towards Sustainable Well-Being: Moving beyond GDP in Canada and the World
Towards Sustainable Well-Being is an outstanding collection of contributions from leading authorities that provides both depth and breadth on the development and evolution of the beyond-GDP movement. Drawing on foremost international and Canadian examples, each chapter provides an unblinking, critical gaze on the issues, challenges to, and opportunities for a well-being agenda. This is a 'must-have' book for anyone interested in a future society focused on well-being! - Bryan Smale, Professor and Director, Canadian Index of Wellbeing, University of Waterloo GDP tells us that growth is good and that bigger is better. As long as we use the inadequate and distorted data that GDP measures, our main 'progress' will continue to be towards greater inequity, social malaise, and ecological collapse. Towards Sustainable Well-Being shows us how to move beyond GDP and rescue humanity from a flawed accounting system that is the origin of so many wicked problems. - Hon. Peter Bevan-Baker, Leader of the Official Opposition, Prince Edward Island
