Diminishing returns of growth? Economic performance, needs satisfaction and ecological impacts of OECD welfare states
(2024) In Critical Social Policy- Abstract
- The environmental crisis, increased inequality and an aging population are likely to increase the demand for welfare services in the OECD countries. Economic growth has long been seen as a solution to these problems. However, this is no longer the case. Very few countries have managed to decouple economic performance from ecological footprints and greenhouse gas emissions. Even where this has been achieved, the rates of emission-decline are too slow to match the Paris climate targets. Consequently, interdisciplinary research is key to probe how welfare systems may cope with these challenges, and how welfare provision and economic growth may be decoupled. By drawing on the basic human needs approach and a unique set of data, we explore the... (More)
- The environmental crisis, increased inequality and an aging population are likely to increase the demand for welfare services in the OECD countries. Economic growth has long been seen as a solution to these problems. However, this is no longer the case. Very few countries have managed to decouple economic performance from ecological footprints and greenhouse gas emissions. Even where this has been achieved, the rates of emission-decline are too slow to match the Paris climate targets. Consequently, interdisciplinary research is key to probe how welfare systems may cope with these challenges, and how welfare provision and economic growth may be decoupled. By drawing on the basic human needs approach and a unique set of data, we explore the social and ecological performances of OECD countries relative to their economic performances. While high-income countries display diminishing welfare returns as economic performance is not improving the satisfaction of health-related needs, the lower-income countries might yield significant surplus if moving to the level of moderate-income countries. However, the satisfaction of autonomy-related needs is so far strongly coupled to economic performance and thus much harder to achieve in an ecologically sustainable way. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c9a0857c-aeca-427f-9b85-05e52ead1ad6
- author
- Paulsson, Alexander LU ; Koch, Max LU and Fritz, Martin
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-01-03
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- keywords
- Degrowth, postgrowth, welfare systems, needs satisfaction, OECD
- in
- Critical Social Policy
- publisher
- SAGE Publications
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85181251117
- ISSN
- 0261-0183
- DOI
- 10.1177/02610183231218971
- project
- Postgrowth Welfare Systems
- Economic Elites in the Climate Change Transformation: Practices, justifications and regulations of unsustainable lifestyles in Sweden
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- c9a0857c-aeca-427f-9b85-05e52ead1ad6
- date added to LUP
- 2024-01-04 10:25:37
- date last changed
- 2024-02-07 11:29:17
@article{c9a0857c-aeca-427f-9b85-05e52ead1ad6,
abstract = {{The environmental crisis, increased inequality and an aging population are likely to increase the demand for welfare services in the OECD countries. Economic growth has long been seen as a solution to these problems. However, this is no longer the case. Very few countries have managed to decouple economic performance from ecological footprints and greenhouse gas emissions. Even where this has been achieved, the rates of emission-decline are too slow to match the Paris climate targets. Consequently, interdisciplinary research is key to probe how welfare systems may cope with these challenges, and how welfare provision and economic growth may be decoupled. By drawing on the basic human needs approach and a unique set of data, we explore the social and ecological performances of OECD countries relative to their economic performances. While high-income countries display diminishing welfare returns as economic performance is not improving the satisfaction of health-related needs, the lower-income countries might yield significant surplus if moving to the level of moderate-income countries. However, the satisfaction of autonomy-related needs is so far strongly coupled to economic performance and thus much harder to achieve in an ecologically sustainable way.}},
author = {{Paulsson, Alexander and Koch, Max and Fritz, Martin}},
issn = {{0261-0183}},
keywords = {{Degrowth; postgrowth; welfare systems; needs satisfaction; OECD}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{01}},
publisher = {{SAGE Publications}},
series = {{Critical Social Policy}},
title = {{Diminishing returns of growth? Economic performance, needs satisfaction and ecological impacts of OECD welfare states}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02610183231218971}},
doi = {{10.1177/02610183231218971}},
year = {{2024}},
}