The Wellbeing Economy: rethinking traditional economic structures to benefit people and planet

What does it take to reconfigure our traditional capitalist economic structures so that people, communities and the environment come before profit? That’s the question at the heart of the wellbeing economy movement and the subject of today’s episode.

Gerard McCartney practiced as a GP and trained as an economist before his current role as Professor of Wellbeing Economy at the University of Glasgow. Gerry’s work explores the connections between health outcomes, community, and our working and living environments. 

Gerry and Anne talk to Dr Katherine Trebeck, a political economist and wellbeing economy advocate who co-founded the Wellbeing Economy Alliance. Katherine has been at the heart of the wellbeing economy movement in Scotland and explains the changes that governments and organisations can make to enable a different, more sustainable economic model.

And Gerry travels to the east end to see just how successfully the wellbeing economy can work in practice. He meets Babs and Leigh from Green City Wholefoods, one of Glasgow’s longest running workers’ co-ops, where each member of staff earns the same salary, shares the profits and decisions are taken collectively. 

For more information:

https://katherinetrebeck.com/

https://www.greencity.coop/

https://weall.org/scotland

https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/staff/gerardmccartney/