For reasons that we’ve expanded on in the past, the pandemic has given fresh impetus to the necessity of implementing broader and deeper wellbeing policies. This is particularly evident in the domain of air pollution as new evidence accrues, suggesting that the situation is worse than we thought. According to a new report, burning fossil fuels causes nearly one in five of all deaths worldwide—a…
With all the challenges of the last year, the mindset of the economic profession has shifted, with a flurry of research papers pointing to the vital importance of social capital. Notions like trust, state capacity, community-building, social cohesion, and social values like empathy and altruism are now seen as a prerequisite for prosperity and welfare. All these social values and other notions pertaining to social…
The dominant narrative about China’s growth (“the only major economy currently growing”) is misleading. China’s GDP rose by 6.5% in Q4 2020 only because the authorities decided it would. In their bid to reach this target, China’s government has moved in areas that previously, for the purpose of rebalancing growth, they were keen to abandon: industrial production, real estate and net exports. Meanwhile, consumption—which the…
Traveling With a Purpose: For Some, It’s a 2021 Resolution – New York Times, January 21, 2021 The crises of 2020, particularly the pandemic and violence against Black Americans, have caused many travelers to rethink how and where to travel. Rather than taking luxury spa trips or sun-and-fun cruises, many are seeking to put more meaning into their future travels, either through a personal challenge…
Depending on the level of compliance with social distancing rules, the dark winter of the pandemic may well last beyond the “official’ end of winter (March 20, 2021), which raises an intriguing point about the relationship between wellbeing and the pandemic. It is the following: are happier people more likely to observe COVID lockdown rules? A recent academic paper used three large-scale surveys to investigate whether happier people were…
In 2021, natural capital will become a prominent investment theme. The reasons are twofold. (1) COVID has made us aware of the importance of nature, highlighting how critical it is for our mental and physical health. Thus, the wellbeing of our planet and our own individual wellbeing are seen as two sides of the same coin – investing in the former yields benefits for the latter.…
