A warm welcome to this collaborative space for Wellbeing Economy Master and PhD students .
At the WEAll Global team, we often get approached by students who are keen to focus their Master’s or PhD thesis on the wellbeing economy. This space is for you to connect with other students who share a similar interest in the wellbeing economy.
We hope it can offer a platform to share ideas about research questions, relevant literature, practical case studies, and much more . Make yourself at home by introducing yourself, your research topic of interest and any questions you might have.
My name is Jack Dobbins, I am a Master by Research student at University of Glasgow, School of Social and Political Science, completing my dissertation in Public Policy Research.
I am still relatively new to WeAll, and to wellbeing economics as a discipline, and I am excited to see where this goes.
My educational background is in Cultural Anthropology, I earned my Bachelor’s degree from Tulane University, in New Orleans, with a focus on colonial Latin America and the Caribbean.
I am a bit older than many Master’s students, I had a 12-year career in the US military, both enlisted and as an officer, before working as an IT program and Project manager for the U.S. government. This gave me a solid foundation in systems science, planning, implementation, and the practical requirements of working within legal/regulatory frameworks
After I complete my dissertation, I intend to pursue a PhD. I am very interested in modern monetary theory, economic transition modeling (standard value frameworks for resource distribution in non-extractive local economies/markets), city-level sustainable infrastructure (green energy, water treatment, housing, food distribution, etc…) and would love to collaborate with like-minded students.
I love to learn about new things, and I would be happy to hear about all of your crazy ideas.
I’m Johannes, a master’s student at Lund University, studying economic history and development economics. Economic history can mean the history of the economy, but personally I view it more as economics approached context-specific, in a longer view, and more as a social science. Less modeling and prediction, more exploration and explanation. Which I find makes the discipline well suited for breaking with habits and orthodoxy when it comes to the economic system.
Currently, I’m gearing up to write my thesis, and hoping this forum can be a good place to spar and exchange ideas with likeminded students, so our work can contribute to transitioning towards a more just and equitable economy and society.
Thank you for creating a space to share and connect, Margreet.
My name is Vix. I’m about to start an MA in the Anthropology of Global Futures and Sustainability at SOAS University of London.
Like @MPJackD, this isn’t my first rodeo. I was an intelligence officer in the Royal Air Force for 10 years, where I got an MA in War Studies researching the role of women in the counterinsurgency operation in Afghanistan. I’ve spent the last 10 years working first in international development and then moving into eco-somatic coaching and relational facilitation (with a few other bits and pieces along the way). My BA is in international politics and development economics from the University of Manchester some 20 years ago now; we definitely weren’t discussing wellbeing or doughnut economics back then!
I haven’t settled on a research question. I’m new to wellbeing economics, but I recently listened to Michael Mezze’s interview with Jason Hickel, and it reignited a lot of ideas for me around anthropologies of security, safety and care. Seeing the tension in the UK at the moment between increasing defence spending on one hand, while at the same time there is widespread food, job and housing insecurity, not to mention the looming threat of the climate and ecological crisis, has me feel frustrated, confused and also curious about what disciplines like wellbeing economics might have as alternative futures.
Looking forward to connecting with other students here from some cross-fertilisation and moral support.
Great to see you here, Johannes, and a warm welcome to you too, Vix! @Vix if you’re new to the wellbeing economy, I’d highly recommend also checking out the free online Wellbeing Economy Policy Design course, which we launched last year together with the Doughnut Economics Action Lab and ZOE Institute for Future-fit economies. The course has been designed for policymakers, but modules 1-7 are widely applicable also for anyone who is interested to learn more about the wellbeing economy. Also, in relation to security and the increase in defence spending, this is an interesting - though sad - piece by the Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) on the economics of genocide. Michael Mezze’s video with Jason Hickel, which is part of the Better Future series, is also a great one. I’m copying the link in here in case others are interested in watching this too. We work quite closely with both Michael and Jason - they are such amazing speakers!
Hi Everybody, thanks Margreet having created this space of sharing knowledge.
briefly introducing my self , i did a bachelor and master degree in Environmental and development economics, with a master thesis focused on the human development economics approach.
After four years of working in the corporate world, I’ve decided to return to academia. Starting this November, I will begin a PhD in Regional Science and Geographic Economics at the Gran Sasso Science Institute in Italy.
My research will focus on strategies to specialize regional areas in ways that go beyond traditional sustainable development frameworks. I aim to explore new metrics for measuring well-being, integrating them into regional planning and policy-making. It’s a challenging and emerging field, but I hope to contribute—brick by brick—to building a new paradigm for society.
looking forward to share ideas and connect with all of you.
I will check out the course once I have my head around my new rhythm with my studies. It’s been a while since I was academia and my brain feels a bit rusty!
The article you shared really speaks to the links between capitalism and militarism/imperialism; they really do go hand-in-hand. Building a safe and just world for all the human and more-than-human inhabitants will require divesting from both.
Hi all, I’m Lily from Taiwan, currently pursuing a Master’s in Governance of Sustainability Transformations at Wageningen University.
I’m still in the early stage of my thesis, but I’m interested in exploring how industrial transitions can be understood through a post-growth lens, especially in energy-intensive sectors like AI and semiconductors. Since there are very few real-world post-growth cases, I’m considering focusing on Taiwan as a case study, or conducting a comparative analysis with the Netherlands.
Both Taiwan and the Netherlands are relatively resource-constrained and highly dependent on energy imports, yet they have developed energy- and resource-intensive industries. This makes them interesting cases for exploring sustainability transitions beyond growth.
Looking forward to connecting and exchanging thoughts with other students working on related themes!
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. Make yourself at home by introducing yourself, your research topic of interest and any questions you might have.
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