Tilting the Scale: A Theoretical Framework to re-direct Public Policy away from Economic Growth towards Sustainable and Inclusive Wellbeing
Creators: name: Hoekstra, Rutger
name: Kaufmann, Raphael
name: Jansen, Annegeke
name: Barth, Jonathan
name: Arntzen, Jaap
name: Aponte, Fabian Rocha
name: Behrens, Paul
name: Bothe, Philipp
name: Brosio, Magalí
name: Chancel, Lucas
name: Cui, Lin
name: Druckman, Angela
name: Fearon, Seán
name: Gallant, Ben
name: Kormann da Silva, Nicole
name: Liu, Kedi
name: Mair, Simon
name: Mohren, Cornelia
name: Scheffer, Patrick
name: Schrijver, Inge
name: Wang, Ranran
name: Wiebe, Kirsten S.
name: Zhu, Junming
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: wellbeing
inclusion
sustainability
accounting system
indicator
metric
macroeconomic model
policy
governance
institutional change
theoretical framework
beyond GDP
post-growth
narrative

description: Current ecological and social crises are fuelling the idea that societies have arrived at an impasse. The “old narrative” which prioritises the pursuit of economic growth does not provide meaningful solutions to the various challenges societies are currently facing. On the contrary, it seems to be a fundamental source of several of its predicaments. Criticisms of this old narrative have existed for decades, alongside the emergence of alternative visions of a good life for all within environmental limits.

This report will show that the scientific literature in this field is converging towards a sound theoretical foundation for a new narrative based on the distinction between three dimensions:



Wellbeing reflects the average wellbeing of the current generation.

Inclusion relates to the distribution of wellbeing between regions and social groups.

Sustainability refers to the wellbeing of future generations.


In accordance with these dimensions, the main socio-political goal of the new narrative envisioned is therefore defined as sustainable and inclusive wellbeing.

However, relative to the economic growth narrative, new narratives have only had a small impact on public policies of national governments or international governance, laws, and treaties. Why? This is one of the enduring questions in the “Beyond-Growth” debate this theoretical framework seeks to address. For this purpose, the theoretical framework develops a theory of institutional change conceptualising how narratives influence the policies, governance, and technical infrastructure (i.e. the metrics, accounts, and macroeconomic models) that shape our societies. The framework is applied to examine both the enduring dominance of the economic growth narrative and the reasons behind the limited success of new narratives thus far.

Moreover, the theory of institutional change outlines how a shift from economic growth towards a new narrative may be orchestrated, thus tilting the scale towards sustainable and inclusive wellbeing. It is argued that the establishment of technical infrastructure presents a crucial lever to shape governance and policies, which may give rise to a virtuous circle supporting the institutionalisation of the sustainable and inclusive wellbeing narrative.

Given the importance of the technical infrastructure to advance a new narrative within the political institutions, this report provides an interdisciplinary theoretical synthesis to guide the selection and development of metrics, accounting frameworks, and macroeconomic models in line with the sustainable and inclusive wellbeing narrative. The report concludes with eight practical recommendations on how various actors can support the tilting of the scale towards the sustainable and inclusive wellbeing narrative.