10.-13.10.2011 in Brüssel
The 9th OPEN DAYS will be held over four days from 10 to 13 October, in a period during which the debate on the European Commission’s legislative proposals for cohesion policy post-2013 and the budget debate in the Council and the European Parliament about size, duration and priorities of the forthcoming Multi-annual Financial Framework will dominate the political agenda. This will happen against the backdrop of continued efforts at all levels of governance to exit the financial and economic crisis and the 2nd year of implementation of the ‘Europe 2020′ strategy. The latter will influence the discussion about objectives of the new generation of cohesion policy programmes.
Regions and cities will play a major role in the discussions on the above-mentioned issues. Their input with regard to a more efficient delivery of cohesion policy will be particularly valuable.
The OPEN DAYS will take good account of the political and institutional circumstances. In parallel, it will continue to be the annual platform of good practice showcasing results and projects from current ‘convergence’, ‘regional competitiveness and employment’, and ‘territorial cooperation’ programmes, in order to support sharing of experiences and to stir debate about good local, regional and cross-border governance and management of EU funding. This exchange between practitioners will be mixed with input from academia. Another successful element will be the participation of third countries, which are keen to hear and learn from European regions’ experiences in regional policy.
Programme
05.2011, Diane Coyle
The new book by Diane Coyle
The world’s leading economies are facing not just one but many crises. The financial meltdown may not be over, climate change threatens major global disruption, economic inequality has reached extremes not seen for a century, and government and business are widely distrusted. At the same time, many people regret the consumerism and social corrosion of modern life.
What these crises have in common, Diane Coyle argues, is a reckless disregard for the future–especially in the way the economy is run. How can we achieve the financial growth we need today without sacrificing a decent future for our children, our societies, and our planet? How can we realize what Coyle calls “the Economics of Enough”?
Running the economy for tomorrow as well as today will require a wide range of policy changes. The top priority must be ensuring that we get a true picture of long-term economic prospects, with the development of official statistics on national wealth in its broadest sense, including natural and human resources. Saving and investment will need to be encouraged over current consumption. Above all, governments will need to engage citizens in a process of debate about the difficult choices that lie ahead and rebuild a shared commitment to the future of our societies.
Creating a sustainable economy–having enough to be happy without cheating the future–won’t be easy. But The Economics of Enough starts a profoundly important conversation about how we can begin–and the first steps we need to take.
Klick here for more information.
01.06.2011 in Vienna
We are glad that Clive Spash, holding the chair of Public Policy and Governance, enriches the team of the Department Socioeconomics till 2 October 2010.
The lecture is a possibility to get (better) acquainted with him and his scientific work.
13:00 at the Department Socioeconomics
If you want to immediately have more information, please see his homepage.
03.2011
UNEP’s Green Economy Report, entitled Towards a Green Economy, aims to debunk several myths and misconceptions about the economics of “greening” the global economy, and provides timely and practical guidance to policy makers on what reforms they need to unlock the productive and employment potential of a green economy.
Synthesis for Policy Makers
Press Release
Read Full report online
20.-22.05.2011 in Berlin. Economic growth is worldwide seen as a universal remedy for economic problems of any kind. In view of the climate change, the precariousness of work, the destruction of the environment and the redistribution from the poor to the rich, it is clear that this long standing remedy does not work. Attac, joint with alliance partners, wants to seek new answers to the pressing crises of our time – answers that lie beyond the economic growth.
The congress Beyond Growth?!, to be held from May 20th-22nd, 2011 at Technische Universität in Berlin, is intended to provide an opportunity for discussing these diverse positions in a controversial and constructive manner. The conflicting interests will be identified and paths leading toward a good life for everyone in a society divested of the growth-compulsion will be explored and strategies sketched out.
You can apply for the congress here. Further Informations are available.
17.01.2011 in Berlin
“Towards sustainable development and social progress in the social market economy”
The Commission, chaired by Daniela Kolbe (SPD) is to determine the significance of growth in the economy and society, develop a holistic well-being and progress indicator, next to the GDP, and explore the possibilities and limits of the link between growth, resource consumption and technological progress.
More information can be obtained here: Study Commission on growth, prosperity and quality of life (currently only available in German)
01.2011
The Centre for European Studies published a policy brief:
GDP and its enemies: the Questionable Search for a Happiness Index by Johan Norberg
The financial crisis and global warming have led to a crisis of confidence in our traditional ways of measuring wealth and as a result, a number of alternative indexes have been proposed. However, in the CES policy brief, Johan Norberg looks at the alternatives to the GDP and concludes that they are constructed with a specific political agenda in mind and are easily manipulated by governments.
Therefore, he suggests addressing the present environmental and financial problems within the intellectual framework of economic growth which takes into account a liberal, pluralistic society where people have different interests, preferences and attitudes to well-being.
To download the policy brief, click here.
Do you suspect that the idea of perpetual economic growth on a finite planet is folly?
Are you searching for ways to solve our profound social and environmental problems?
Do you want to know how we can construct an economy that (1) meets our needs without undermining the life-support systems of the planet and (2) achieves sustainable and equitable well-being for all people?
Enough is Enough is the single most complete collection of policy initiatives, tools, and reforms for an economy that makes enough its goal instead of more. The report, generated from the inspirational ideas of the Steady State Economy Conference, consists of three parts:
- Part One describes why economic growth is becoming an obsolete goal and provides a crystal-clear description of the desirable alternative — a steady state economy;
- Part Two examines ten key areas where change is needed to achieve a steady state economy;
- Part Three provides a blueprint for moving boldly from ideas to action.
To download the full report, click here.
A high-level roundtable, organized by Friends of Europe, on “The nature of economic growth: In search of a new framework for progress and prosperity” will take place on December 08.
“The financial crisis and the ensuing economic recession have seriously undermined the dominating neo-liberal growth agenda which was the basis for most macro-economic policies in Europe in the last 25 years. The belief in the free unchained market toward more growth has been shaken with some policymakers arguings for a return to neo-Keynesian and interventionist policies.
Moreover, climate change, energy security and geo-political challenges in terms of access to resources and raw materials have made it perfectly clear that there is a need to rethink our political instruments (eg. GDP as a measure of wellbeing) and policies to stimulate the economy, safeguard and grow employment, and de-carbonise our production and consumption.”
Questions addressed in this roundtable are amongst others:
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Does Europe need a new economic growth agenda and is the EU’s 2020 strategy for “smart, sustainable and inclusive growth” the right framework for future prosperity?
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Should we really question the dominance of GDP growth as THE top priority for policymkers? Are there alternative macro-economic approaches which would be social and ecologically sustainable?
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Does Europe (and the rest of the developed economies) need to “de-grow” or to downsize to allow the developing and poor countries to grow?
For detailed information on the programme, click here.
The Finnish Growth in Transition project was initiated in autumn 2009 by the Finnish Association of Nature Conservation (FANC) and co-operation partners. The Finnish Ministry of the Environment was involved in the discussions from the beginning and inspiration was drawn by following the development of the Austrian Growth in Transition project. When Elisabeth Freytag from the Austrian Lebensministerium visited Helsinki, the organisers of the Finnish Growth in Transition project had the opportunity to hear and learn about the Austrian process. The organisers of the Finnish project were enamoured by the successful dialogue among the different partners and people in Austria. The relative similarity of the Finnish and Austrian societies and the rising interest towards the dilemma of sustainable growth encouraged the Finns to follow the Austrian example.
The Finnish Growth in Transition Conference was organized on the 24 of September 2010 and brought together over 550 participants including academics, politicians, NGOs, businesses, the media, and the general public, to explore limits to growth as well as possibilities for ecologically and socially responsible economic models. In addition, more than 400 people, some of which had their residence outside Finland, watched the conference on-line on the “virtual conference” webpage. The conference succeeded in creating a wide public debate on economically and socially sustainable economies, degrowth and alternative ways of measuring prosperity and well-being. In both the plenary and the working groups, a broad range of topics was discussed in order to give floor to as many different stakeholders as possible.
For more information on the Finnish project, click here
A letter informing about the Austrian impact on the Finnish process can be read here.
Conference
News
Conference on "Degrowth in the Americas"
