Professor Tim Jackson

Our current economic system depends on growth to function effectively. Several recent reports have aimed to understand this growth dependency and have sought ways to mitigate it. In light of the long-term slowdown in the growth rate already witnessed in advanced economies and the potential threats to economic growth from climate change, biodiversity loss and social disruption, such strategies are fully consistent with economic prudence. In many ways, the UK’s adult social care sector represents a microcosm of the growth dependencies observed in the wider economy. The rising demand for adult social care associated with an ageing population creates a dependency on ever-growing production of health and social care services. Rising costs, related to the timeintensive nature of social care, demand growing revenues for care companies to stay afloat. And the use of predatory financial practices by investment firms places unmanageable ongoing financial costs on large parts of the sector. These growth dependencies can be attenuated or aggravated by physical, financial, legislative, and social factors. The privatised structure of adult social care, combined with an absence of effective financial legislation, creates the conditions that expose care companies to overleveraging, among other risks. Tackling these underlying structures—e.g. through strict financial regulations— would not only reduce the growth dependency of the adult social care sector but would also generate other co-benefits, such as reduced inequality. The processes and structures creating growth dependency in adult social care apply to other parts of the welfare state too. In this report, we therefore present a systematic approach to identifying, analysing and transforming growth dependencies in the welfare state. Using adult social care as our case study, we explore how growing demand, rising costs and rent seeking can create growth dependencies. We analyse the structures that drive and reinforce these growth dependencies and, in so doing, we identify fruitful levers for transformation and mitigation. The systematic application of this framework to all parts of the welfare state would enable us to protect the resilience of the welfare state and improve the wellbeing of UK citizens, no matter what is happening to growth.

This paper explores the hypothesis (most notably made by French economist Thomas Piketty) that slow growth rates lead to rising inequality. If true, this hypothesis would pose serious challenges to achieving 'prosperity without growth' or meeting the ambitions of those who call for an intentional slowing down of growth on ecological grounds. It would also create problems of social justice in the context of a 'secular stagnation'. The paper describes a closed, demand-driven, stock-flow consistent model of Savings, Inequality and Growth in a Macroeconomic framework (SIGMA) with exogenous growth and savings rates. SIGMA is used to examine the evolution of inequality in the context of declining economic growth. Contrary to the general hypothesis, we find that inequality does not necessarily increase as growth slows down. In fact, there are certain conditions under which inequality can be reduced significantly, or even eliminated entirely, as growth declines. The paper discusses the implications of this finding for questions of employment, government fiscal policy and the politics of de-growth.

The purpose of this paper is to draw on data from 16 interviews (two each with eight women) to explore some of the ways in which everyday shopping may change as women become mothers. The meanings, practices and implications of the transition to motherhood have long been a topic for sociological inquiry. Recently, interest has turned to the opportunities offered by this transition for the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles. Becoming a mother is likely to lead to changes in a variety of aspects of everyday life such as travel, leisure, cooking and purchase of consumer goods, all of which have environmental implications. The environmental impacts associated with such changes are complex, and positive moves toward more sustainable activities in one sphere may be offset by less environmentally positive changes elsewhere.

© 1996 Stockholm Environment Institute. All rights reserved.Material Concerns offers new perspectives on key environmental issues - pollution prevention, ecological economics, limits to sustainability, consumer behaviour and government policy. The first non-technical introduction to preventative environmental management, Material Concerns offers realistic prospects for improving the quality of life.

The consumption patterns of Western nations are generally deemed to be unsustainable. Yet there is little attempt to restrain either material throughput or income growth. Nonetheless, in the face of the need to make ‘deep’ cuts in carbon emissions (for instance), consumption restraint may be a perfectly legitimate response. This paper explores the potential for a Reduced Consumption Scenario in the UK constructed by assuming that households achieve a specific ‘minimum income standard’ which is deemed to provide a decent life for each household type. The minimum income standards are taken from a recent study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and include not only subsistence commodities such as food, warmth and shelter but also the means to participate effectively in society. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation study produced detailed household expenditure budgets for these income standards. The paper uses an environmentally extended Quasi-Multi-Regional Input–Output model to estimate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions required in the production and distribution of all goods and services purchased according to these budgets. Our results show that average household GHG emissions in the UK would be around 37% lower in the Reduced Consumption Scenario than they are currently. We explore several implications of these findings including: the need to change social norms around consumption, the need for investment to improve the thermal performance of homes and the need to develop new transport infrastructures. We also address the potential to reduce emissions below the level achieved in this Scenario and discuss the implications for policy.

In recent years, the potential of religions for fostering more sustainable consumer behaviors on the part of their adherents has often been invoked. This article provides an overview of research on Christianity and ecologically conscious, socially conscious, and frugal consumer behaviors. Previous research has focused mainly on ecologically conscious consumer behavior, reporting mixed findings, depending on the religion measures that are used. In an extension to this body of work, a U.K.-based survey examining religious influences on socially conscious and frugal consumer behaviors is reported. Weak positive relationships between general religion measures (dispositional religiousness, spirituality, religious service attendance, and Christian identification) and both types of consumer behavior were obtained, suggesting that religion does indeed foster sustainable consumer behaviors, albeit marginally. However, attempts to distinguish among consumer behaviors by means of God concepts were largely unfruitful. Future research needs to investigate the influence of specific religious beliefs about consumerism, wealth, and social justice on consumer behavior. An increased focus on action research would also be valuable.

In this paper, we aim to contribute to the literature on post-growth futures. Modern imaginings of the future are constrained by the assumptions of growth-based capitalism. To escape these assumptions we turn to utopian fiction. We explore depictions of work in Cokaygne, a utopian tradition dating back to the 12th century, and William Morris's 19th century News from Nowhere. Cokaygne is a land of excessive consumption without work, while in News from Nowhere work is the route to the good life. These competing notions provide inspiration for a post-growth vision of work. We argue that biophysical and social dynamics mean that in a post-growth economy we are likely to have to be less productive and work more. But, this can be a utopian vision. By breaking the link between work and consumption at the level of the individual, we can remove some of the coercion in work. This would free us to do jobs that contribute to the social good, rather than generate exchange value, and empower us to fight for good work. Finally, we draw on eco-feminist analyses of capitalism to argue that by challenging labour productivity growth we can also challenge wider forces of oppression.

As a key element in its climate change strategy, the UK government launched a greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in April 2002. The UK ETS is the first-ever national, industry-wide carbon trading scheme in the world and will eventually form part of the global carbon market which is expected to be established under the Kyoto Protocol. This paper assesses the effectiveness of the scheme both in facilitating emission reductions and also as driver towards moving from a fossil-fuel-based economy towards a low-carbon economy. By looking at early developments in the UK ETS and examining the emission profiles of FTSE 100 companies, the paper reveals some serious weaknesses and highlights that the environmental credibility of the market is hampered by low standards of emissions monitoring and reporting. The authors argue that a fundamental review of the UK scheme is required, to improve its environmental credibility and to bring it in line with the planned EU-wide scheme.

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Rising demand for cheaper textiles and clothing in Western Europe is well documented, as are changes in the Textiles and Clothing industry's globalised production structure. We apply a sub-systems global multi-regional input-output accounting framework to examine the sustainability implications of meeting Western European demand for textiles and clothing goods between 1995 and 2009. Our framework estimates environmental and socio-economic impacts of consumption in a consistent manner and shows where these occur both geographically and in the value chain. The results demonstrate that Western European textiles and clothing consumption remains dependent on low-cost labour from Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), principally in the Textiles and Clothing and Agricultural sectors. Conversely, we show that the wage rate for BRIC workers in the global value chains serving Western European textiles and clothing consumption has risen over time but remains low relative to the wage rate paid to Western European workers. Likewise, we find that profits are increasingly generated within BRIC and that they are now at comparable levels to those generated in Western Europe. We find a slight overall decrease in the amount of carbon emitted in the production of textiles and clothing goods for Western Europe between 1995 and 2009. However, the trend is not linear and the importance of different underlying drivers varies over the timeseries. We conclude by discussing the implications of these results for a more sustainable future for Western European textiles and clothing consumption.

Labour productivity is a key concept for understanding the way modern economies use resources and features prominently in ecological economics. Ecological economists have questioned the desirability of labour productivity growth on both environmental and social grounds. In this paper we aim to contribute to ongoing debates by focusing on the link between labour productivity and worker wellbeing. First, we review the evidence for the happy-productive worker thesis, which suggests labour productivity could be improved by increasing worker wellbeing. Second, we review the evidence on ways that productivity growth may undermine worker wellbeing. We find there is experimental evidence demonstrating a causal effect of worker wellbeing on productivity, but that the relationship can also sometimes involve resource-intensive mediators. Taken together with the evidence of a negative impact on worker wellbeing from productivity growth, we conclude that a relentless pursuit of productivity growth is potentially counterproductive, not only in terms of worker wellbeing, but even in terms of long-term productivity.

Introduction There are increasing concerns that people in modern societies spend too much of their leisure time on activities such as shopping and watching television and that this undermines human wellbeing and damages the environment. Objectives This paper explores the relationships between materialism, environmental values and life satisfaction on the one hand, and different forms of leisure activities on the other. In particular, it addresses the differences between serious or intrinsically motivating leisure activities and casual or extrinsically motivating activities. Method Three survey studies were conducted among 16 to 25 year olds in the UK (n = 338), Spain (n = 417) and China (n = 961). Results Reading books was negatively related to materialism and positively to environmental values and behaviours. Playing sports was associated with higher wellbeing. Moreover, materialism was negatively associated with environmental values and behaviour. Life satisfaction was higher among those with stronger environmental values and weaker materialism. Conclusion The findings suggest that sustainable lifestyles, characterised by higher wellbeing, higher environmental concern and behaviour and lower materialism can be found in each nation. Moreover, such lifestyles are associated with different kinds of leisure engagement. Examining the potentially positive role of reading books rather than being immersed in screen time deserves further attention.

Strong materialistic values help to maintain consumer capitalism, but they can have negative consequences for individual well-being, for social equity and for environmental sustainability. In this paper, we add to the existing literature on the adverse consequences of materialistic values by highlighting their negative association with engagement in attitudes and actions that support the achievement of sustainable well-being. To do this, we explore the links between materialistic values and attitudes towards sufficiency (consuming "just enough") as well as mindfulness (non-judgmental awareness of the present moment) and flow (total immersion in an activity), which have all been linked to increased well-being and more sustainable behaviours. We present results from three correlational studies that examine the association between materialistic values and sufficiency attitudes (Study 1, n = 310), a multi-faceted measure of mindfulness (Study 2, n = 468) and the tendency to experience flow (Study 3, n = 2000). Results show that materialistic values were negatively associated with sufficiency attitudes, mindfulness, and flow experiences. We conclude with practical considerations and suggest next steps for tackling the problematic aspects of materialism and encouraging the development of sustainable well-being.

'We are faced with the greatest challenge to public engagement since World War Two, and a new discourse of fear - not military invasion but climate change. At the same time most people cannot grasp the scale of the challenge nor what they are supposed to do about it. Good governance requires an informed citizenry who are much more than consumers and customers, but active participants in a new post-carbon politics. Low Carbon Communities helps to set out the political and cultural agenda for the first half of the twenty-first century and, ultimately, the imaginative approaches that are required now to address climate change.' © Anastassios Gentzoglanis and Anders Henten 2010. All rights reserved.

The world has changed dramatically.

This article presents the results of a life-cycle materials and energy flow analysis for the pulp and paper cycle in the United Kingdom. Material flows are reconstructed for the period between 1987 and 1996 for all major processes associated with the paper cycle, and system energy requirements are calculated over this period using the best available data. Attention is drawn to the import dependence of U.K. paper demand, and the significant energy requirements associated with upstream forestry processes. The historical trend analysis is then used to model possible future developments in materials and energy consumption until 2010 under a variety of assumptions about process technology improvements, wastepaper utilization rates, and changing demand trends. The results indicate that policy options to increase recycling yield some energy benefits, but these are small by comparison with the benefits to be gained by reducing consumption of paper and improving process technology. The structure of the electricity supply industry in the United Kingdom means that global energy benefits could also be achieved by increasing the contribution from imported pulp.

Dr. Tim Jackson is Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey in the ...

While global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased more than three-fold since 1950, economic welfare, as estimated by the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), has actually decreased since 1978. We synthesized estimates of GPI over the 1950-2003 time period for 17 countries for which GPI has been estimated. These 17 countries contain 53% of the global population and 59% of the global GDP. We compared GPI with Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Human Development Index (HDI), Ecological Footprint, Biocapacity, Gini coefficient, and Life Satisfaction scores. Results show a significant variation among these countries, but some major trends. We also estimated a global GPI/capita over the 1950-2003 period. Global GPI/capita peaked in 1978, about the same time that global Ecological Footprint exceeded global Biocapacity. Life Satisfaction in almost all countries has also not improved significantly since 1975. Globally, GPI/capita does not increase beyond a GDP/capita of around $7000/capita. If we distributed income more equitably around the planet, the current world GDP ($67. trillion/yr) could support 9.6. billion people at $7000/capita. While GPI is not the perfect economic welfare indicator, it is a far better approximation than GDP. Development policies need to shift to better account for real welfare and not merely GDP growth. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Energy efficiency improvements by households lead to rebound effects that offset the potential energy and emissions savings. Direct rebound effects result from increased demand for cheaper energy services, while indirect rebound effects result from increased demand for other goods and services that also require energy to provide. Research to date has focused upon the former, but both are important for climate change. This study estimates the combined direct and indirect rebound effects from seven measures that improve the energy efficiency of UK dwellings. The methodology is based upon estimates of the income elasticity and greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of 16 categories of household goods and services, and allows for the embodied emissions of the energy efficiency measures themselves, as well as the capital cost of the measures. Rebound effects are measured in GHG terms and relate to the adoption of these measures by an average UK household. The study finds that the rebound effects from these measures are typically in the range 5-15% and arise mostly from indirect effects. This is largely because expenditure on gas and electricity is more GHG-intensive than expenditure on other goods and services. However, the anticipated shift towards a low carbon electricity system in the UK may lead to much larger rebound effects. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

This study estimates the combined direct and indirect rebound effects from various types of energy efficiency improvement and behavioural change by UK households and explores how these effects vary with total expenditure. The methodology is based upon estimates of the expenditure elasticity and GHG intensity of 16 categories of goods and services, and allows for the capital cost and embodied emissions of the energy efficiency measures themselves. The study finds that rebound effects, in GHG terms, are modest (0-32%) for measures affecting domestic energy use, larger (25-65%) for measures affecting vehicle fuel use and very large (66-106%) for measures that reduce food waste. Furthermore, measures undertaken by low income households are associated with the largest rebound effects, with direct emissions forming a larger proportion of the total rebound effect for those households. Measures that are subsidised or affect highly taxed energy commodities may be less effective in reducing aggregate emissions. These findings highlight the importance of allowing for rebound effects within policy appraisals, as well as reinforcing the case for economy-wide carbon pricing. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

This paper addresses the question of whether a capitalist economy with interest-bearing money can ever sustain a ‘stationary’ (or non-growing) state, or whether, as often claimed, capitalism has an inherent ‘growth imperative’ which arises from the creation of money as interest-bearing debt. We outline the development of a dedicated system dynamics model for describing Financial Assets and Liabilities in a Stock-Flow consistent Framework (FALSTAFF) and use this model to explore the potential for stationary state outcomes in an economy with balanced trade, debt-based money, and private equity. Contrary to claims in the literature, we find that neither credit creation nor the charging of interest on debt create a ‘growth imperative’ in and of themselves. We show further that it is possible to move from a growth path towards a stationary state without either crashing the economy or dismantling the system. Our model supports critiques of austerity and underlines the value of countercyclical spending by government. Nonetheless, there remain several good reasons to support the reform of the monetary system.

Modern western economies (in the Eurozone and elsewhere) face a number of challenges over the coming decades. Achieving full employment, meeting climate change and other key environmental targets, and reducing inequality rank amongst the highest of these. The conventional route to achieving these goals has been to pursue economic growth. But this route has created two critical problems for modern economies. The first is that higher growth leads (ceteris parabis) to higher environmental impact. The second is that fragility in financial balances has accompanied relentless demand expansion. The prevailing global response to the first problem has been to encourage a decoupling of output from impacts by investing in green technologies (green growth). But this response runs the risk of exacerbating problems associated with the over-leveraging of households, firms and governments and places undue confidence in unproven and imagined technologies. An alternative approach is to reduce the pace of growth and to restructure economies around green services (post-growth). But the potential dangers of declining growth rates lie in increased inequality and in rising unemployment. Some more fundamental arguments have also been made against the feasibility of interest-bearing debt within a post-growth economy. The work described in this paper was motivated by the need to address these fundamental dilemmas and to inform the debate that has emerged in recent years about the relative merits of green growth and post-growth scenarios. In pursuit of this aim we have developed a suite of macroeconomic models based on the methodology of Post-Keynesian Stock Flow Consistent (SFC) system dynamics. Taken together these models represent the first steps in constructing a new macroeconomic synthesis capable of exploring the economic and financial dimensions of an economy confronting resource or environmental constraints. Such an ecological macroeconomics includes an account of basic macroeconomic variables such as the GDP, consumption, investment, saving, public spending, employment, and productivity. It also accounts for the performance of the economy in terms of financial balances, net lending positions, money supply, distributional equity and financial stability. This report illustrates the utility of this new approach through a number of specific analyses and scenario explorations. These include an assessment of the Piketty hypothesis (that slow growth increases inequality), an analysis of the ‘growth imperative’ hypothesis (that interest bearing debt requires economic growth for stability), and an analysis of the financial and monetary implications of green investment policies. The work also assesses the scope for fiscal policy to improve social and environmental outcomes.

Background: Young people’s processes of meaning-making in relation to what it means to live well are supported by the shared understandings of the good life that are available in their particular sociocultural and historical contexts. These understandings are tied to questions of environmental impact and social justice, as each ‘good life’ entails different levels of material throughput and some may undermine the ability of others to pursue their chosen ‘good lives’. This paper draws on the insights from an exploration of Instagram posts tagged #goodlife to consider the role of Instagram in the constitution of good life narratives that are available to young people. Using network analysis tools, the researchers analyse the relationships between themes of hashtags appearing on 793 posts tagged #goodlife. The findings from the thematic approach to network analysis are used to support a thematic qualitative exploration of a subsample of 200 of the posts. Findings: The paper gives an overview of three good life narratives that can be found on the platform: the good life of the self-made affluent entrepreneur, the good life of the world-traveller, the good life as shared experience. Additionally, it highlights the differing levels of popularity of each narrative on the platform, and considers their respective implications for environmental and social sustainability. The paper then provides a conceptual reading of the platform that enables considerations relating to its place in the creation and maintenance of good life narratives. Conceptualising Instagram as a social conversation, the paper suggests that adequate participation on the platform may require engaging in less sustainable practices. Conclusions: The paper concludes by arguing that while the most popular narratives on the platform are less likely to support sustainable lifestyles, more sustainable understandings of living well are also promoted by users.

This paper considers the debate around energy policy and government regulation in the UK, considering Helm's idea that the current period can be conceptualized as a distinct ideological paradigm in the same way that both nationalization and privatization were enmeshed within particular political and economic goals. As he reasons, the first paradigm was based on nationalization and had the purpose of bringing vital services under public ownership and the second paradigm was constructed around the premises of liberalization and privatization. Drawing on the work of Mitchell, the paper explores Helm's observations on the link between ‘paradigms and policy’ to suggest that the failings of a market-based approach to addressing climate change and energy security argue that a more radical shift in direction and thinking is needed. In particular, it is argued that the UK Government's more recent targets on reducing carbon emissions suggest the need for an energy policy agenda that is more clearly de-linked from the current emphasis on market solutions and associated political thinking. It is argued that such a transition in policy would need to revolve around Kuhn's pre-conditions of a ‘gestalt switch’ – as indicated in both previous UK regulatory approaches to energy. We suggest that, in much the same way as the dominant scientific consensus structured Kuhn's original conception of a paradigm, such a shift in policy will involve a ‘gestalt switch’, and a politically led shift away from the influence of thinking which currently remains rooted in previous infrastructural and ideological legacies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic and unprecedented impacts on both global health and economies. Many governments are now proposing recovery packages to get back to normal, but the 2019 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Global Assessment indicated that business as usual has created widespread ecosystem degradation. Therefore, a post-COVID world needs to tackle the economic drivers that create ecological disruptions. In this perspective, we discuss a number of tools across a range of actors for both short-term stimulus measures and longer-term revamping of global, national, and local economies that take biodiversity into account. These include measures to shift away from activities that damage biodiversity and toward those supporting ecosystem resilience, including through incentives, regulations, fiscal policy, and employment programs. By treating the crisis as an opportunity to reset the global economy, we have a chance to reverse decades of biodiversity and ecosystem losses. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented impacts to global economies, and recovery from this pandemic needs to tackle the drivers that create ecological disruptions in the first place. We discuss a number of tools across a range of actors for both short-term stimulus measures and longer-term revamping of global, national, and local economies that take biodiversity into account. By treating the crisis as an opportunity to reset the global economy, we can reverse decades of biodiversity and ecosystem losses.

In this paper we explore how paying a living wage in global supply chains might affect employment and carbon emissions: Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 13. Previous work has advocated using wage increases for poorer workers to increase prices for wealthier consumers, thereby reducing consumption and associated environmental damage. However, the likely effects of such an approach remain unclear. Using an input-output framework extended with income and demand elasticities, we estimate the employment and carbon effects of paying a living wage to Brazilian, Russian, Indian and Chinese (BRIC) workers in the Western European clothing supply chain. We find negligible effects on carbon emissions but a substantial increase in BRIC employment under 3 scenarios of consumer behaviour. Changes in Western European consumption lead to small decreases in global carbon emissions and BRIC employment. However, the increase in BRIC wages increases demand in BRIC. This increased demand increases production which largely cancels out the carbon savings and generates net increases in BRIC employment. We conclude by arguing that paying higher wages in global supply chains represents a good but not sufficient step toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

This paper presents a stock-flow consistent (SFC) macroeconomic simulation model for Canada. We use the model to generate three very different stories about the future of the Canadian economy, covering the half century from 2017 to 2067: a Base Case Scenario in which current trends and relationships are projected into the future, a Carbon Reduction Scenario in which measures are introduced specifically designed to reduce Canada's carbon emissions, and a Sustainable Prosperity Scenario which incorporates additional measures to improve environmental, social and financial conditions across society. The performance of the economy is tracked using two composite indicators constructed especially for this study: an environmental burden index (EBI) which describes the environmental performance of the model; and a composite sustainable prosperity index (SPI) which is based on a weighted average of seven economic, social and environmental performance indicators. Contrary to the widely accepted view, the results suggest that ‘green growth’ (in the Carbon Reduction Scenario) may be slower than ‘brown growth’. More importantly, we show (in the Sustainable Prosperity Scenario) that improved environmental and social outcomes are possible even as the growth rate declines to zero.

The COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on the global economy, and current delays in the negotiation of the post-2020 global biodiversity agenda of the Convention on Biological Diversity heighten the urgency to build back better for biodiversity, sustainability, and well-being. In 2019, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) concluded that addressing biodiversity loss requires a transformative change of the global economic system. Drawing on the IPBES findings, this policy perspective discusses actions in four priority areas to inform the post-2020 agenda: (1) Increasing funding for conservation; (2) redirecting incentives for sustainability; (3) creating an enabling regulatory environment; and (4) reforming metrics to assess biodiversity impacts and progress toward sustainable and just goals. As the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear, and the negotiations for the post-2020 agenda have emphasized, governments are indispensable in guiding economic systems and must take an active role in transformations, along with businesses and civil society. These key actors must work together to implement actions that combine short-term impacts with structural change to shift economic systems away from a fixation with growth toward human and ecological well-being. The four priority areas discussed here provide opportunities for the post-2020 agenda to do so.

Smart contact lenses have been put forward for years, but there is still no commercial product in the market; the high cost due to expensive fabrication techniques could be one of the reasons. In this paper, first, a cost-efficient and reliable route to fabricate graphene grating on contact lens was designed and demonstrated based on the direct laser interference patterning graphene film on commercial contact lenses using an Nd:YAG laser. The thickness of the film and the interference angle have been taken into consideration. Optical characterization and simulation have been applied to evaluate the quality of our final achieved grating patterns with a grating size from 0.92 to 3.04 μm. Two-dimensional (2D) patterns could also be obtained through double-time laser interference. Contact angles for samples with different interference angles were presented considering the service environment of smart contact lenses. Of course, the conductivity of the samples was evaluated using a four-probe method. The most conductive sample had the sheet resistance lower than 30 Ω/sq. This research study highlighted the possibility of patterning graphene with the laser ablation method and provided a candidate solution for the fabrication of smart contact lenses under controlled cost.

Flow states represent a form of optimal experience and contribute to higher levels of psychological well-being and enhanced performance. Research has documented certain personality factors that influence people's likelihood of experiencing flow. However, the association between demographic variables and flow proneness in various activities has been less thoroughly explored and existing findings are often inconsistent across studies. This research sought to explore the demographic correlates of flow proneness across different types of activities. We examined flow proneness' relationship with age, gender, socioeconomic status, and educational attainment. Using a largely representative sample of 4000 adults in the UK, participants completed three different measures of flow proneness and reported the activities where they most often experienced flow. Results demonstrated that, despite trends such as higher levels of education being linked to greater flow proneness, especially in work/study activities, the demographic factors had a minimal role in explaining either flow proneness or the activity sites of flow. Regression models containing all four demographic variables explained up to a maximum of 8 % of variation in flow scores. Promisingly, the study implies that the rewards of flow are not reserved only for certain demographic groups but rather should be available across society.

In recent years, much has been written on the role of different mental states and their potential to influence our way of thinking and, perhaps more importantly, the way we act. With the recent acceleration of environmental and mental health issues, alongside the limited effectiveness of existing interventions, an exploration of new approaches to deliver transformative change is required. We therefore explore the emerging potential of a type of mental state known as self-transcendent experiences (STEs) as a driver of ecological wellbeing. We focus on four types of STEs: those facilitated by experiences of flow, awe, and mindfulness, as well as by psychedelic-induced experiences. Some of these experiences can occur naturally, through sometimes unexpected encounters with nature or during immersion in every-day activities that one intrinsically enjoys, as well as through more intentional practices such as meditation or the administration of psychedelics in controlled, legal settings. We explore the evidence base linking each of the four types of STE to ecological wellbeing before proposing potential hypotheses to be tested to understand why STEs can have such beneficial effects. We end by looking at the factors that might need to be considered if STEs are going to be practically implemented as a means of achieving ecological wellbeing.

This paper utilizes Critical Slowing Down (CSD; instability) indicators developed by statistical physics to analyse economic growth rate variability and secular stagnation in historical GDP data. Understanding these phenomena is vital, particularly in advanced economies faced with declining growth rates. Two novel indicators - the autocorrelation (AR1) and the variance - are found particularly useful in providing insight into inter-decadal GDP variability over this period. These indicators are first applied to the Maddison-Project historical dataset, which includes almost a century of data for some 80 countries and almost two centuries of data for 9 countries. They are additionally applied to similar to 50 years of recent annual data for around 130 countries from the World Bank dataset as well as similar to 60 years of recent quarterly data for around 20 countries from the OECD dataset. Analysis reveals inter-decadal variability in growth cycles (the recession cycle), highlighting periods of large slow growth cycles and periods of small fast growth cycles. The most commonly occurring pattern is characterised by an increase in CSD from the 1900s to 1940s, a decline in CSD between the 1930s and the 1970s, then a further increase in CSD from the 1960s to 2010. This pattern is significant in similar to 70% of the advanced economies. CSD indicators may then provide invaluable insights into specific aspects of inter-decadal GDP variability, such as on the nature of the business cycle, secular stagnation and the implicit "restoring forces" of the economy.

As a first step to understanding household material flows and waste arisings, a detailed picture of household consumption is required. This task is particularly problematic for local areas such as deprived inner-city housing estates that are under-represented in national surveys. This paper describes two methodologies for assessing household expenditure as a consumption proxy and applies them to such an area. The first is a top-down approach using national datasets to model household expenditure at high levels of socio-economic and geographical disaggregation. The second method is a bottom-up approach in which a sample of household expenditure diaries was collected, augmented by a variety of qualitative techniques to gain a detailed picture of household practices. The results from the two methodologies showed marked discrepancies: locally collected data demonstrate a higher degree of variability than modelled results based on aggregate data. It is suggested that neither approach is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, but that the two methodologies serve different purposes. Use of top-down modelled data is pragmatic and affordable for use by administrative or commercial bodies. However, without recognition of the localised volatility revealed by the bottom-up method, it is unlikely that realistic and efficient collection strategies can be devised.

A number of papers in the field of net energy analysis have argued that declines in energy return on investment (EROI) could lead to increasing energy prices and a fall in economic growth. This paper develops a model (TranSim) which can simulate the economic and financial implications of an energy technology transition involving a reduction in EROI, by combining the stock-flow consistent (SFC) approach with an input-output (IO) model. The TranSim model has the following key features. First, it includes three firm sectors, that produce energy, capital, and other (non-energy, non-capital) goods. Second, an IO model and an Almost Ideal Demand System are integrated into the SFC model. Third, capital vintages have embedded levels of labour productivity and intermediate good requirements that depend on the economic conditions in the period the vintage was produced. Simulations are characterised by an initial increase in output (due to higher investment), followed by periods of recession and below trend growth (due to price inflation and changes to the functional income distribution). The negative effects associated with the transition – recession, stagnation, stagflation, increasing inequality and asset stranding – are positively related to the capital intensity of green energy production and reductions in EROI.

This chapter outlines the essential elements of a research agenda for an ‘ecological macroeconomics’. The overarching objective of ecological macroeconomics is to investigate and promote transitions to economies that deliver sustainable prosperity for all. Central to the proposed research agenda is the need for a more profound analysis of the interactions between economies and planetary systems than has been undertaken to date. The broad thrust of our argument is that an ecological macroeconomics must encompass three distinct spheres of modelling and metrics: the ecological sphere, the real economy and the financial economy. It should also include their complex inter-dependencies. The research agenda has three main components: modelling, metrics and contemporary issues. We provide ten specific recommended research priorities based on an assessment of the current state of ecological macroeconomics and where the greatest gains are to be made over the next decade.

Post‐pandemic recovery must address the systemic inequality that has been revealed by the coronavirus crisis. The roots of this inequality predate the pandemic and even the global financial crisis. They lie rather in the uneasy relationship between labor and capital under conditions of declining economic growth, such as those who have prevailed in advanced economies for almost half a century. This paper explores the dynamics of that relationship using a simple stock‐flow consistent (SFC) macroeconomic model of a closed economy. It examines in particular the role of two key factors—the savings rate and the substitutability (elasticity of substitution) between labor and capital—on the severity of systemic inequality under conditions of declining growth. The paper goes on to test the efficacy of three redistributive measures—a graduated income tax, a tax on capital and a universal basic income—under two distinct structural scenarios for an economy with a declining growth rate. We find that none of these measures is sufficient to control structural inequality when institutions aggressively favor capital over labor (hyper‐capitalism). Taken in combination, however, under conditions more favorable to wage labor (proto‐socialism), these same measures have the potential to eliminate inequality, almost entirely, even as the growth rate declines.

Existing literatures have discussed both ethical issues in visual research with young people, and the problems associated with applying ‘universal’ ethical guidelines across varied cultural contexts. There has been little consideration, however, of specific issues raised in projects where visual research is being conducted with young people simultaneously in multiple national contexts. This paper contributes to knowledge in this area. We reflect on our experiences of planning and conducting the International CYCLES project involving photo elicitation with young people in Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK. While some issues such as varying access to technology for taking and sharing photos and diverse cultural sensitivities around the use of photography were anticipated in advance, others were more unexpected. Balancing the need for methods to be appropriate, ethical and feasible within each setting with the desire for sufficient consistency across the project is challenging. We argue that an ‘ethics in context’ approach and an attitude of ‘methodological immaturity’ is critical in international visual research projects with young people.

The need to locate ways of living that can be both beneficial to personal well-being and ecologically sustainable is becoming increasingly important. Flow experiences show promise for the achievement of personal and ecological well-being. However, it is not yet understood how the materialistic values promoted by our consumer cultures may impact our ability to experience flow. A cross-sectional survey of 451 people demonstrated that materialistic values and an individual’s tendency to experience flow were negatively correlated (Study 1). Next we showed that experimentally priming a materialistic mind-set led to poorer quality flow experiences in a sample of students (Study 2) and British adults (Study 3). Our findings add to current understandings of the detrimental consequences of materialistic values and suggest that it is crucial to challenge the materialistic values present within our consumer societies if we are to provide opportunities for experiencing flow.

This short paper considers all possible stakeholders in different stages of a sustainability transition and matches their behavioral features and diversity to policies. This will involve an assessment of potential or expected responses of stakeholders to a range of policy instruments. Following the Multi-Level Perspective framework to conceptualize sustainability transitions, we classify the various transition policies at niche, regime and landscape levels. Next, we offer a complementary classification of policies based on a distinction between social preferences and bounded rationality. The paper identifies many barriers to making a sustainability transition and how to respond to them. In addition, lessons are drawn from the case of Denmark. The detailed framework and associated literature for the analysis was discussed in Milestone 31 of the WWWforEurope project (Gazheli et al., 2012).

Using the modelling tool ELESA (Econometric Lifestyle Environment Scenario Analysis), this paper describes forecast scenarios to 2030 for UK household expenditure and associated (direct and indirect) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 16 expenditure categories. Using assumptions for real household disposable income, real prices, ‘exogenous non-economic factors’ (ExNEF), average UK temperatures and GHG intensities, three future scenarios are constructed. In each scenario, real expenditure for almost all categories of UK expenditure continues to grow up to 2030; the exceptions being ‘alcoholic beverages and tobacco’ and ‘other fuels’ (and ‘gas’ and ‘electricity’ in the ‘low’ scenario) leading to an increase in associated GHG emissions for most of the categories in the ‘reference’ and ‘high’ scenarios other than ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’, ‘alcoholic beverages and tobacco’, ‘electricity’, ‘other fuels’ and ‘recreation and culture’. Of the future GHG emissions, about 30% is attributed to ‘direct energy’ use by households and nearly 70% attributable to ‘indirect energy’. UK policy makers therefore need to consider a range of policies if they wish to curtail emissions associated with household expenditure, including, for example, economic measures such as taxes alongside measures that reflect the important contribution of ExNEF to changes in expenditure for most categories of consumption.

This collection is a hugely valuable contribution to our understanding, and to the work of practitioners and policy makers alike.

14. Sustainable. consumption. and. lifestyle. change. TIM JACKSON 14.1 Introduction Amongst the mostfirmlyhelddesiderata ofmodernliberal society isthe notion of individual freedom of choice. It seems almost sacrilegious for governments to ...

Welfare systems across the OECD face many combined challenges, with rising inequality, demographic changes and environmental crises likely to drive up welfare demand in the coming decades. Economic growth is no longer a sustainable solution to these problems. It is therefore imperative that we consider how welfare systems will cope with these challenges in the absence of economic growth. We review the literature tackling this complex problem. We identify five interconnected dilemmas for a post-growth welfare system: 1) how to maintain funding for the welfare system in a non-growing economy; 2) how to manage the increasing relative costs of welfare; 3) how to overcome structural and behavioural growth dependencies within the welfare system; 4) how to manage increasing need on a finite planet; and 5) how to overcome political barriers to the transformation of the welfare state. There is now need for further research investigating the macro-economic dynamics of post-growth welfare systems; trialling preventative, relational, low-resource models of welfare provision; and seeking to better understand political barriers to a post-growth welfare transition. We also make the case for considering post-growth welfare studies as a field in its own right, with the aim of improving coherence and cross-fertilisation between disciplines. •Economic growth can no longer be relied on to solve problems facing welfare systems.•Five core dilemmas for post-growth welfare systems are identified in the literature.•Declining funding, increasing costs and structural growth dependence are key issues.•Increasing welfare demand and political barriers to transition are other challenges.•A more integrated research approach would benefit post-growth welfare studies.

Meeting near future UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets will require all parts of the UK economy to contribute, and in particular significant changes in business practices are required at the local level. From review it was found that there is a lack of detailed business accounting and reporting of GHG emissions at the local level, especially concerning supply chain impacts and small and medium sized enterprises. This paper presents a framework model to generate detailed benchmark estimates of GHGs (both on site and supply chain related) for individual businesses and all businesses of a sector within an area. The model makes use of available economic and environmental data, and, with similar datasets existing in other parts of the world, such models may be used elsewhere. The framework model is applied to an empirical case study. Estimates from such a framework can be used in a step-by-step approach to move businesses and local areas towards improved accounting, reporting and sustainability (including procurement). The model makes use of two different accounting perspectives: the production perspective (on site GHGs) and the provision perspective (supply chain GHGs attributable to purchased inputs of a business or sectors production). The new provision perspective and its consequences are explored and explained.

Materialistic values and lifestyles have been associated with detrimental effects on both personal and planetary health. Therefore, there is a pressing need to identify activities and lifestyles that both promote human wellbeing and protect ecological wellbeing. In this Personal View, we explore the dynamics of a psychological state known as flow, in which people are shown to experience high levels of wellbeing through involvement in challenging activities that require some level of skill, and can often involve less materially intensive activities. By synthesising the results of a series of experience sampling, survey, and experimental studies, we identify optimal activities that are shown to have low environmental costs and high levels of human wellbeing. We also confirm that materialistic values tend to undermine people's ability to experience a flow state. In seeking to understand the reasons for this negative association between materialism and flow experiences, we are drawn towards a key role for what psychologists call self-regulation. We show, in particular, that the tendency to experience a flow state can be limited when self-regulatory strength is low and when people evade rather than confront negative or undesirable thoughts and situations. We reflect on the implications of these findings for the prospect of sustainable and fulfilling lifestyles.

This paper presents a stock-flow consistent (SFC) macroeconomic simulation model for Canada. We use the model to generate three very different stories about the future of the Canadian economy, covering the half century from 2017 to 2067: a Base Case Scenario in which current trends and relationships are projected into the future, a Carbon Reduction Scenario in which measures are introduced specifically designed to reduce Canada's carbon emissions, and a Sustainable Prosperity Scenario which incorporates additional measures to improve environmental, social and financial conditions across society. The performance of the economy is tracked using two composite indicators constructed especially for this study: an environmental burden index (EBI) which describes the environmental performance of the model; and a composite sustainable prosperity index (SPI) which is based on a weighted average of seven economic, social and environmental performance indicators. Contrary to the widely accepted view, the results suggest that ‘green growth’ (in the Carbon Reduction Scenario) may be slower than ‘brown growth’. More importantly, we show (in the Sustainable Prosperity Scenario) that improved environmental and social outcomes are possible even as the growth rate declines to zero.

With ever-increasing concerns about the consequences of climate change, households are an important focus for change. There is increasing pressure on households to change lifestyles and adopt behaviours that require less energy and natural resources. At the same time, retailers and producers of consumer goods aim to persuade people to consume more through commercial advertisements. Social science research examining sustainable behaviours often fails to examine the relative influence of both environmental concern and materialism simultaneously. Moreover, most of this research focuses on explaining or promoting behaviours with pro-environmental intent, thereby ignoring many consumer behaviours that may have a significant environmental impact. This article aims to address some of these shortcomings by examining the relationships between materialistic and environmental values and different consumer behaviours. Survey data from 194 individuals from 99 households were analysed. The findings show that quite a number of people express both relatively high levels of environmental concern and relatively high levels of materialism simultaneously. Moreover, materialism and environmental concern appear to be related to different types of behaviours. This raises important questions for the promotion of sustainable lifestyles, which may need to address not only environmental concerns but also materialistic concerns.

While the consumerist approach to what living well can mean permeates traditional media, the extent to which it appears in people’s own depictions of the good life is unclear. As the unsustainability of the consumerist approach is increasingly evidenced, both in terms of environmental and social impacts, looking into which understandings of the good life resonate with people becomes essential. This article uses a sample of posts tagged #goodlife and variants originally collected in 2014-2015 on Instagram (a popular image sharing platform) to explore which understandings of the good life can be found on the platform. Using multimodal discourse analysis, it highlights two different user generated understandings of the good life: ‘working on future goals’ and ‘appreciating the present moment’. We argue that neither approach is directly or necessarily congruent with the traditional consumer good life. Yet their shared photographic codes with advertisements can contribute to their framing into the consumer good life. Additionally, the temporalities afforded by the platform and currently in place through social conventions may affect the type of narratives that are mediated. While the understandings derived from the analysis are not straightforward reflections of people’s beliefs about the meaning of the good life, they constitute conversations that at once inform, and are informed by, users’ beliefs about living well. The popularity of the platform makes these conversations crucial for anyone interested in desired lifestyles and their sustainability.

Research suggests that the excessive focus on the acquisition of material goods promoted by our consumer capitalist society may be detrimental to well-being. Current Western lifestyles, which promote unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, therefore risk failing to bring citizens the happiness they are striving for. Csikszentmihalyi (2004) suggested that engaging in challenging, flow-conducive activities is a means by which individuals can improve their well-being without substantially impacting the environment. In this paper we test this proposal by examining data concerning the daily experiences and well-being of 500 US families. We show that individuals who experience stronger characteristics of flow in their leisure activities tend to have greater momentary well-being and that those experiencing flow more frequently tend to report greater retrospective well-being. Moreover, a small negative relationship was found between an activity’s flow score and its environmental impact. The analysis allows us to identify a specific group of activities that are highly conducive to the experience of flow while having a low environmental impact.

Given that flow experiences when shopping can encourage positive brand attitudes and purchase behaviours, consumer psychologists are interested in the antecedents to flow within retail environments. Emerging findings suggest that a materialistic goal orientation can undermine an individual's tendency to have optimal experiences of flow. However, this existing work has been conducted largely within the field of Environmental Psychology and thus focused on flow experiences that occur in more ecologically sustainable activities. We hypothesized that materialism may not have the same flow-limiting effects when participants are engaged in shopping activities, which are more in line with the goals of highly materialistic individuals. Across two studies, we tested the relationship between materialism and the experience of flow during shopping activities using cross-sectional (N = 886) and experimental (N = 140) methods. Contrary to our hypothesis, both studies documented a negative effect of materialism on flow experiences when shopping, and this was not moderated by the type of store browsed. Accordingly, it appears that a materialistic goal orientation limits the extent to which people can have enjoyable flow experiences even during activities which are consistent with the life goals of highly materialistic individuals. We discuss the implications of these findings for wellbeing, marketing, and sustainability.

This paper explores the hypothesis that slow growth rates lead to rising inequality. This case has been made most notably by French economist Thomas Piketty. If true, this hypothesis would pose serious challenges to the project of achieving Prosperity without Growth or meeting the ambitions of those who call for an intentional slowing down of growth on ecological grounds. The paper describes a simple four-sector, demand-­driven model of Savings, Inequality and Growth in a MAcroeconomic framework (SIGMA) with exogenous growth and net savings rates. SIGMA is used to examine the evolution of inequality in the context of declining economic growth. Contrary to the general hypothesis, we find that inequality does not necessarily increase as growth slows down. In fact, there are certain conditions under which inequality can be reduced significantly, or even entirely eliminated, as growth declines. The paper discusses the implications of this finding for questions of employment, government policy and the politics of de-­growth.

A growing number of studies have systematically examined the relationships between religiousness and value priorities. However, few studies have utilized multidimensional constructs of religiousness or attempted to distinguish among the value priorities of the religious. Using a general public sample and a churchgoer sample in the United Kingdom, this article examines the associations between Schwartz's values, several general religion measures, and conceptualization of God. Religiousness aligns most strongly along the conservation/openness to change value dimension, and spirituality is rotated further toward self-transcendence values. Findings suggest a shift among the religious away from an emphasis on security. God concepts are uniquely related to some value types. Particularly among the churchgoers, for whom God concepts may be especially formative, characteristics attributed to God are reflected in value priorities. These findings support the theoretical assertion that conceptualization of God is a foundational religious belief implicated in more specific values, attitudes, and beliefs.

With ever-increasing concerns about the consequences of climate change, households are an important focus for change. There is increasing pressure on households to change lifestyles and adopt behaviours that require less energy and natural resources. At the same time, retailers and producers of consumer goods aim to persuade people to consume more through commercial advertisements. Social science research examining sustainable behaviours often fails to examine the relative influence of both environmental concern and materialism simultaneously. Moreover, most of this research focuses on explaining or promoting behaviours with pro-environmental intent, thereby ignoring many consumer behaviours that may have a significant environmental impact. This article aims to address some of these shortcomings by examining the relationships between materialistic and environmental values and different consumer behaviours. Survey data from 194 individuals from 99 households were analysed. The findings show that quite a number of people express both relatively high levels of environmental concern and relatively high levels of materialism simultaneously. Moreover, materialism and environmental concern appear to be related to different types of behaviours. This raises important questions for the promotion of sustainable lifestyles, which may need to address not only environmental concerns but also materialistic concerns.

There are two main drivers for the consideration of ground source energy systems in the built environment in the UK today. Firstly, to reduce the operational costs of the provision of space heating and cooling and, secondly, to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of the building. Building occupiers and owners are becoming increasingly concerned at rising energy prices and are seeking alternatives to conventional systems to reduce the running costs of buildings. Building designers, due to European and national legislation, are also required to reduce the operational CO2 emissions from new and existing buildings. The capital costs for closed loop ground source heat pump systems are often found to be unattractive versus conventional approaches and low carbon alternatives. This paper will consider the optimisation of maximising the operational benefits whilst minimising the capital installation costs of closed loop ground source heating and cooling systems. Bivalent (dual fuel) heating and cooling systems offer a way to reduce the installation costs but also still provide considerable economic and environmental savings. A study example is presented for a newly proposed Academy (school) in the UK. The results of the study show a >40% reduction in the capital cost versus a peak sized GSHP systems whilst still providing >70% of the respective economic savings and CO2 reduction.

This paper provides a concise overview of how the term ‘community’ has been conceptualised in sociological literatures, noting that there remains considerable uncertainty with regard to the way in which communities could or should be defined. The paper explores concepts relevant to the progression of community-based initiatives and other approaches to pursuing community action as a force for social change (e.g. individual and collective behavioural change towards a more sustainable future). It is suggested that these attempts need to capitalise on the special nature of communities, tapping into their innovative and receptive capacity. An understanding of some of the theoretical underpinnings can be useful in providing a framework from which to develop carefully planned action strategies.

Concern over the environmental and social implications of modern consumption patterns has emerged as a defining feature of debates about sustainable development. During the last decade, these concerns have crystallised around the concept of 'sustainable consumption'. This paper briefly reviews the recent history of this debate. It highlights, in particular, the failure of policy-makers to agree on precise definitions of sustainable consumption and the contentious nature of exhortations to 'consume less'. In spite of these difficulties, the author suggests that progress towards understanding and changing unsustainable patterns of consumption is not only necessary bur possible. Such progress relies, however, on two key understandings: firstly, an informed view of the wider and deeper debates about consumption and consumer behaviour within which the sustainable consumption debate sits; and secondly, a culturally open approach to the role of policy in negotiating change. The paper highlights, in particular, the potential for community-based initiatives for social change. Far from offering an intractable policy domain, the author argues that a sophisticated understanding of the social and institutional context of consumer action opens out a much more creative vista for policy innovation than has hitherto been recognised.

This paper analyzes an online discussion that followed an article published by UK environmental activist and journalist George Monbiot (2007) in The Guardian online newspaper. The analysis addresses the ways in which participants in an online forum debate responded to the tensions and contradictions between lifestyle, consumption and sustainability highlighted in the original article. The discursive construction of class, green political orientations and identities, visions of “the good life”, and appeals to religion and science, are highlighted throughout the analysis – as are the discursive strategies for positioning self, other and audience in the debate. The argument emphasizes the heterogeneity of discursive positioning, and reflects on the role of social media in the politics of consumption and sustainability, especially given the inherent reflexivity of web forums as online communicative forms.

Purpose This paper explores the issue of fairness in global supply chains. Taking the Western European clothing supply chain as a case study, we demonstrate how applying a normative indicator in Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) can contribute academic and practical insights into debates on fairness. To do so, we develop a new indicator that addresses some of the limitations of the living wage for SLCA. Methods We extend the standard form of living wage available for developing countries to include income tax and social security contributions. We call this extension ‘living labour compensation’. Using publically available data, we estimate net living wages, gross living wages, and living labour compensation rates for Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) in 2005. We then integrate living labour compensation rates into an input-output framework, which we use to compare living labour compensation and actual labour compensation in the BRIC countries in the Western European clothing supply chain in 2005. Results and discussion We find that in 2005, actual labour compensation in the Western European clothing supply chain was around half of the living labour compensation level, with the greatest difference being in the Agricultural sector. Therefore, we argue that BRIC pay in the Western European clothing supply chain was unfair. Furthermore, our living labour compensation estimates for BRIC in 2005 are ~ 35% higher than standard living wage estimates. Indeed, adding income taxes and employee social security contributions alone increases the living wage by ~ 10%. Consequently, we argue there is a risk that investigations based on living wages are not using a representative measure of fairness from the employee’s perspective and are substantially underestimating the cost of living wages from an employer’s perspective. Finally, we discuss implications for retailers and living wage advocacy groups. Conclusions Living labour compensation extends the living wage, maintaining its strengths and addressing key weaknesses. It can be estimated for multiple countries from publically available data and can be applied in an input-output framework. Therefore, it is able to provide a normative assessment of fairness in complex global supply chains. Applying it to the Western European clothing supply chain, we were able to show that pay for workers in Brazil, Russia, India, and China is unfair, and draw substantive conclusions for practice.

Long-term care across the OECD has undergone a progressive marketisation and financialisation in recent decades, characterised by the embedding of neoliberal market values such as competition, consumer choice and the profit motive. In this Personal View, we argue that these make poor guiding principles for the care sector, identifying the dysfunctional dynamics that arise as a result, and reflecting on the clinical implications of each, with a focus on facility-based care. We outline why providers can scarcely respond to competitive forces without compromising care quality. We explain why the promotion of consumer choice cannot effectively motivate improvements to quality of care. And we explore how privatisation opens the door to predatory financial practices. We conclude by considering how far proposals for reform can take us, ultimately arguing for a rejection of neoliberal market ideology, and calling for sector-wide discussions about what principles would be more fitting for a caring economy.

Households are expected to play a pivotal role in reducing the UK’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the UK Government is encouraging specific household actions to help meet its targets. However, due to there bound effect, only a portion of the GHG emission reductions estimated by simple engineering calculations are generally achieved in practice. For example, replacing short car journeys by walking or cycling reduces consumption of motorfuels. But this frees up money that may be spent on, for example, purchasing extra clothes or flying on vacation. Alternatively, the money may be put into savings. Since all of these options lead to GHG emissions, total GHG savings may be less than anticipated. Indeed, in some instances, emissions may increase — a phenomenon known as ‘backfire’. We estimate that there bound effect for a combination of three abatement actions by UK households is approximately 34%. Targeting re-spending on goods and services with a low GHG intensity reduces this to a minimum of around 12%, while re-spending on goods and services with a high GHG intensity leads to backfire. Our study highlights the importance of shifting consumption to lower GHG intensive categories and investing in low carbon investments.

In order to meet the UK's challenging greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets, behaviour change will be necessary in addition to changes in technology. Traditionally this has been approached from the angle of shifting the goods people purchase towards lower impact options. But an equally valid angle is through changing the way people use their time. This study explores the GHG emissions per unit time for different types of activities. It focuses on ‘non-work’ time, and examines how different activities, such as household chores and leisure pursuits, give rise to varying amounts of household carbon emissions. We do this first for an average British adult, and then examine how time use varies within households, and how this impacts on resulting carbon emissions. We find, for example, that leisure activities are generally associated with lower carbon emissions than non-leisure activities, and that a higher proportion of an average man's carbon footprint is due to leisure than an average woman's. In the discussion we explore the implications of our findings for the varying roles carried out within different types of household, we investigate the concept of carbon as a potential marker for social justice, and discuss the implications for work-time reduction policies.

Households are expected to play a pivotal role in reducing the UK’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the UK Government is encouraging specific household actions to help meet its targets. However, due to there bound effect, only a portion of the GHG emission reductions estimated by simple engineering calculations are generally achieved in practice. For example, replacing short car journeys by walking or cycling reduces consumption of motorfuels. But this frees up money that may be spent on, for example, purchasing extra clothes or flying on vacation. Alternatively, the money may be put into savings. Since all of these options lead to GHG emissions, total GHG savings may be less than anticipated. Indeed, in some instances, emissions may increase — a phenomenon known as ‘backfire’. We estimate that there bound effect for a combination of three abatement actions by UK households is approximately 34%. Targeting re-spending on goods and services with a low GHG intensity reduces this to a minimum of around 12%, while re-spending on goods and services with a high GHG intensity leads to backfire. Our study highlights the importance of shifting consumption to lower GHG intensive categories and investing in low carbon investments.