The MERGE online kick-off conference, Measuring what matters – Economy that would improve wellbeing for all now and in the future, gathered around 130 participants across various sectors, including public policy, academia, and economics, to discuss policies, metrics, and models of an economy that goes beyond GDP and supports sustainable and inclusive wellbeing for all. See a recording of the conference below, and access the presentation held at the conference here.
While many alternative economic models and frameworks exist, they tend to share the same goal: to ensure sustainable and inclusive wellbeing (SIW), which is also our focus at MERGE. As convergence is already happening, policymakers and key actors can and must reach a consensus, build an integrated system of goals, metrics, models, and policies, and produce concrete action plans to bring SIW to fruition.
The conference featured contributions from:
- Tuuli Hirvilammi, Tampere University
- Rutger Hoekstra, Leiden University
- Brent Bleys, Ghent University
- Rob van Eynde, University of Barcelona
- Robert Costanza, UCL Institute for Global Prosperity
- Mario Biggeri, University of Florence
- Laura de Bonfils, Social Platform
- Dennis Snower, Global Solutions Initiative
Main discussion points
There is a demand for a different economic mechanism in Europe – It isn’t about not knowing what to do.
We titled this event Economy that Would Improve Wellbeing, for All, Now and in the Future, not just despite, but precisely because the reality we see in the news, political decisions, and broader societal trends doesn’t reflect wellbeing as our top priority. All European countries are currently falling short of their social goals — achieving wellbeing for the entire population — while at the same time overshooting planetary boundaries.
“Part of the problem is that our economic systems are focused on achieving growth”, said Rob van Eynde. Economic decisions have long been guided by the traditional macroeconomic model linking firms and consumers while leaving no space to assess their interdependence with broader society and the environment. This model pilots the only way up: the higher the GDP, the better for all.
GDP has remained so entrenched as a metric, explained by Robert Costanza, because it is buttressed by established national accounting systems, policies, and influential interested groups. Yet, historical evidence and contemporary trends show that a GDP-focused economy is flawed at its core.
There is a growing sentiment for change. Based on a recent survey of European citizens’ perspectives on beyond-GDP approaches, Brent Bleys highlighted that over 80% of the respondents advocate for beyond-GDP measures to be included in national progress assessment and to guide policy decisions. Notably, 72% of the respondents strongly agree or tend to agree with the statement: “Our economy should prioritise the health and wellbeing of people and nature rather than focusing solely on profit and increasing incomes in the country.”
The call is clear: European decision-makers, citizens, and more-than-human actors desire an economy that supports the sustainable and inclusive wellbeing of humanity and the planet alike.
Separated streams of work need to merge into a single river — It is about how to do it right.
The discussion around beyond GDP is not new; it has been ongoing for over 50 years. However, as Tuuli Hirvilammi pointed out, the essence of every framework is to ensure sustainable and inclusive wellbeing (SIW) at the heart of the policy systems and goals, whether we call it doughnut economics, wellbeing economies, post-growth, degrowth, or beyond growth.
Along with its proliferation, “the heterogeneity in our community has expanded over time”, noted Rutger Hoekstra. When collecting and analysing around 90 beyond-GDP metrics, MERGE researchers identified the convergence points among them on indicator level, thematic level, and conceptual level. Besides potentials for convergence, there is also a need for an integrated system — an interconnected loop of goals, metrics, models, and policies. Just as it solidifies the widespread favour of the GDP-focused system, as mentioned above by Costanza, such a connection is equally essential for a SIW-focused system to gain legitimacy.
Mario Biggeri emphasised the importance of reaching a consensus. Over the past 50 years, many ‘springs’ have emerged to move beyond GDP, yet as separate ‘streams’ rather than a unified force. Now is the time to merge them into a single river — by reaching a new consensus. Once they converge, alignment is needed on multiple levels: theoretical (harmonising diverse schools of thought), technical (coordinating the design of composite indicators and dashboards), policy (embedding measurements of SIW into the policymaking process), and lastly, public (encouraging engagement scrutiny of citizens and all societal actors).
We do not lack alternatives, but we lack coordinated policy actions to institutionalise them.
There are ways forward, and with them, reasons for hope and a call to action.
Knowledge has been accumulated and shared, convergence is happening, and people’s perceptions are shifting. It is time for policymakers to concretise a set of political actions to move beyond the narrow macroeconomic model to a whole-system approach that includes social thresholds and biophysical boundaries. The MERGE project aims to establish a unified set of indicators for measuring sustainable and inclusive wellbeing, bringing these into multilevel governance policy through science and policy interface, improved scientific knowledge, capacity building and practical policy design and evaluation tools. MERGE seeks new common ground in terms of goals, metrics, policies, and models at the EU level, national level, and international level.
There is no need to start from scratch. Thanks to its strong governance and institutions, the EU has the potential to lead and set standards for an economy that promotes sustainable and inclusive wellbeing for all now and in the future.
Constant reflection carves our ways towards SIW — Critical contribution from Commentators.
The essence of the discussion was captured by Laura de Bonfils, who reiterated the importance of setting the right goals, building a coherent set of metrics, and persistently advancing the agenda. The current system does not sufficiently ensure societal and planetary wellbeing in Europe. However, upcoming opportunities in the political landscape hint at the potential for progress, such as the revision of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the new EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, and the Competitiveness Compass. All of them could serve as key entry points for integrating sustainable and inclusive wellbeing into policymaking.
Dennis Snower stressed the importance of consistency: “In order for wellbeing metrics to be truly influential in the practical world, it is important that they be consistent across countries and through time.” He also raised a critical question about the formation and aggregation of beyond-GDP metrics and how to make them meaningful for policymakers (for example, what does a 1.2% increase in life satisfaction mean in guiding a policy?)
According to Snower, wellbeing is driven by four factors, the so-called SAGE (solidarity, agency, material gain, and environmental sustainability), which calls for a systemic approach to measurement: intra-national assessment and international comparison. The risk of falling into the individualism trap was also mentioned: wellbeing is not just about individual outcomes but also a collective construct. Therefore, when measuring wellbeing, both individual and collective factors must be considered and indexed appropriately.
Acting together
This conference is one of the proactive responses to the aforementioned call: We are capable of acting together, coordinating interventions, producing knowledge, and converging on what matters and what should be prioritised.
The MERGE consortium would like to thank the speakers and participants for contributing to this important discussion. If you find the discussion points insightful or want to collaborate, please feel free to contact us (or Jenni Kilpi, jenni.kilpi@demoshelsinki.fi).
