Towards Sustainable Well-Being: Moving beyond GDP in Canada and the World

Edited by Anders Hayden, Céofride Gaudet, and Jeffrey Wilson

Published by: University of Toronto Press

Imprint: University of Toronto Press

Sales Date: 2022-10-03

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Hardcover

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Published: October 2022

Product Details

Imprint: University of Toronto Press

Page Count: 358 Pages

Illustrations: 3 b&w illustrations, 9 b&w tables, 12 b&w figures

Dimensions: 6.25 x 9.25

358 Pages, 6.25 x 9.25 x 1.00 in, 3 b&w illustrations, 9 b&w tables, 12 b&w figures

Hardcover

CA$95.00

ISBN: 9781487507848

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Description
Authors
Contents

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.

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.

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