We are pleased to announce that the next Global Asia Workshop will be held on Friday, January 10th:
Title: Sustainability and Happiness: A Project for Post-growth Economy at the Time of the Great Deceleration
Speaker: Prof. Stefano Bartolini (University of Siena)
Abstract:
Many scientists who study ecological issues are very pessimistic about the possibility of preventing and mitigating ecological crises, starting with climate change. The reason is the so-called Great Acceleration, the enormous growth of the population and economies over the past two centuries. However, the population is already decreasing in most industrial countries due to the collapse of fertility and will begin to decrease in major developing countries within a few decades. Moreover, the economies of industrial countries have entered a substantial stagnation of GDP per-capita in the past 30-40 years and this trend will extend to newly industrialized countries. This evidence suggests that within a few decades the world will enter into a Great Deceleration. These trends of demography and economy offer an extraordinary opportunity to build a sustainable economy. But the transition to the Great Deceleration must be accelerated because we are running serious risks of collapse of the climate and other ecosystems. Furthermore, the Great Deceleration poses serious economic, social and cultural problems to societies. A project for a post-growth society is needed. I propose the main features of such a project.
Speaker Information
Prof. Stefano Bartolini is an associate professor at the University of Siena, Italy and currently a visiting professor at Waseda University, Japan. His area of specialization is the relationship between economic growth and happiness. His book Manifesto per la felicità (2010) is translated in several languages and stimulating the global debate on the economics of happiness.
Discussant: Dr. Yoshihiro Nakano (Waseda University)
Date: 10th January 2019
Time: 18:15-19:45
Place: Waseda Main Campus, Building 14, Room 960
