title: Wellbeing Policy

authors: Weijers, Dan M.

abstract: Wellbeing – or the prudential good life – refers to how well someone’s life is going for him or her (Crisp, 2014 ). Increasingly, awareness of the limitations of traditional economic indicators has led researchers to call for scientifi c measures of wellbeing to augment traditional measures (Diener et al., 2009 ; Diener and Seligman, 2004 ; Layard, 2005 ). Th e main problem with measures of per capita production, income and wealth is that they do not attribute direct value to many factors widely viewed as essential to high wellbeing, including relationships, health and happiness (Helliwell, 2006 ). In light of this problem and the attendant research, national governments and multinational organisations are investigating new measures of wellbeing to inform policy making (Diener, 2009 ; Stiglitz et al., 2009 ). Over the last decade, many of these new measures have been incorporated into various policymaking processes (see Diener et al., 2009 ). Within this movement toward new measures of wellbeing, some researchers are calling for the importance of mental health to be recognized by including various measures of mental health in any collection of key policy outcomes (e.g. Bok, 2010 ; Layard, 2005 ; Layard and Clark, 2014 ).
To pave the way for a focus on wellbeing policy in the context of mental health and recovery specifi cally (e.g. see Jarden, Jarden & Oades, this volume), this chapter briefl y reviews the history of this debate, the current challenges of using measures of wellbeing and mental health for policy making, and some of the possibilities for meeting these challenges. We conclude that, with public backing, it would be appropriate for governments to measure mental health and wellbeing, and for the resultant data to inform policy making generally, and specifi cally as it relates to mental health .

text: Wellbeing Policy Wellbeing – or the prudential good life – refers to how well someone’s life is going for him or her (Crisp, 2014 ). Increasingly, awareness of the limitations of traditional economic indicators has led researchers to call for scientifi c measures of wellbeing to augment traditional measures (Diener et al., 2009 ; Diener and Seligman, 2004 ; Layard, 2005 ). Th e main problem with measures of per capita production, income and wealth is that they do not attribute direct value to many factors widely viewed as essential to high wellbeing, including relationships, health and happiness (Helliwell, 2006 ). In light of this problem and the attendant research, national governments and multinational organisations are investigating new measures of wellbeing to inform policy making (Diener, 2009 ; Stiglitz et al., 2009 ). Over the last decade, many of these new measures have been incorporated into various policymaking processes (see Diener et al., 2009 ). Within this movement toward new measures of wellbeing, some researchers are calling for the importance of mental health to be recognized by including various measures of mental health in any collection of key policy outcomes (e.g. Bok, 2010 ; Layard, 2005 ; Layard and Clark, 2014 ).
To pave the way for a focus on wellbeing policy in the context of mental health and recovery specifi cally (e.g. see Jarden, Jarden & Oades, this volume), this chapter briefl y reviews the history of this debate, the current challenges of using measures of wellbeing and mental health for policy making, and some of the possibilities for meeting these challenges. We conclude that, with public backing, it would be appropriate for governments to measure mental health and wellbeing, and for the resultant data to inform policy making generally, and specifi cally as it relates to mental health .

year: 2017

title: The gender gap in access to finance: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

authors: Hewa-Wellalage, Nirosha Hewa

subjects: Social Sciences

abstract: Using gender as a theoretical framework, we analyse the dynamics of bank, micro and equity finance during the COVID-19 pandemic for a cross-country sample of 8,921 private firms. We provide evidence of slight female favouritism in the debt market during the pandemic. On average, female-owned/led firms access bank and micro finance more compared to their male counterparts as the main mechanism of dealing with cash flow shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find no evidence of gender differences in access to equity finance. The results are robust after controlling for a larger number of firm-specific characteristics and selection bias. We challenge the assumption of “gender-based discrimination” in the credit market, speculating that in the context of high uncertainty, prototypical forms of femininity may perhaps be slightly advantageous as financial institutions seek to hedge their risk by favouring more conservative borrowers.

text: The gender gap in access to finance: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic Using gender as a theoretical framework, we analyse the dynamics of bank, micro and equity finance during the COVID-19 pandemic for a cross-country sample of 8,921 private firms. We provide evidence of slight female favouritism in the debt market during the pandemic. On average, female-owned/led firms access bank and micro finance more compared to their male counterparts as the main mechanism of dealing with cash flow shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find no evidence of gender differences in access to equity finance. The results are robust after controlling for a larger number of firm-specific characteristics and selection bias. We challenge the assumption of “gender-based discrimination” in the credit market, speculating that in the context of high uncertainty, prototypical forms of femininity may perhaps be slightly advantageous as financial institutions seek to hedge their risk by favouring more conservative borrowers.

year: 2022-05-01

title: Who owns native nature? Discourses of rights to land, culture, and knowledge in New Zealand

authors: Goldsmith, Michael

subjects: indigenous cultures

abstract: Michael Brown famously asked ‘Who owns native culture?’ This paper revisits that question by analyzing what happens to culture when the culturally defined boundary between it and nature becomes salient in the context of disputes between indigenous and settler populations. My case study is the dispute between the New Zealand government and Maori tribal groupings concerning ownership of the foreshore and seabed. Having been granted the right to test their claims in court in 2003, Maori groups were enraged when the government legislated the right out of existence in 2004. Though the reasons for doing so were clearly political, contrasting cultural assumptions appeared to set Maori and Pakeha (New Zealanders of European origin) at odds. While couching ownership of part of nature as an IPR issue may seem counter-intuitive, I argue that as soon as a property claim destabilizes the nature/culture boundary, IPR discourse becomes pertinent.

text: Who owns native nature? Discourses of rights to land, culture, and knowledge in New Zealand Michael Brown famously asked ‘Who owns native culture?’ This paper revisits that question by analyzing what happens to culture when the culturally defined boundary between it and nature becomes salient in the context of disputes between indigenous and settler populations. My case study is the dispute between the New Zealand government and Maori tribal groupings concerning ownership of the foreshore and seabed. Having been granted the right to test their claims in court in 2003, Maori groups were enraged when the government legislated the right out of existence in 2004. Though the reasons for doing so were clearly political, contrasting cultural assumptions appeared to set Maori and Pakeha (New Zealanders of European origin) at odds. While couching ownership of part of nature as an IPR issue may seem counter-intuitive, I argue that as soon as a property claim destabilizes the nature/culture boundary, IPR discourse becomes pertinent.

year: 2009