Suchergebnisse

A systematic and thorough comparison between Canada's and Britain's actions on climate change.

Bhutan is a rare case of a state with a development objective, Gross National Happiness (GNH), that emerged out of a critical perspective on economic growth as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, Bhutan is not immune from pressures that have led other states to see economic growth as a core political imperative. It thus represents a valuable case to examine the possibilities and challenges facing an ecological politics of sufficiency that questions the infinite growth of production and consumption. In addition to providing an overview of the GNH development approach, the article examines how ideas of sufficiency have been incorporated into that approach and asks whether pursuit of GNH actually represents a break with logic of a growth-based economic system. Although a sufficiency-based critique of consumerism and endless growth remains present, this "strong GNH" formulation increasingly contends with a "weak GNH" that is more in line with contemporary pressures for growth and greater consumption.

While dominant responses to climate change aim to decouple economic growth and emissions, a sufficiency approach challenges infinitely growing production and consumption. Sufficiency can target different levels. At the macro level, it questions endless economic growth, but it has advanced further at the micro level, where it challenges specific commodities, practices, or sectors. Relatively easy targets for politicians and others wanting to signal ecological concern include plastic bags and bottled water. The idea of 'less' has also progressed, paradoxically, when it contributes to a broader growth agenda. Examples in Canada include efforts to reduce food miles, which can expand the local agricultural economy, and state promotion of reduced electricity consumption to ensure power-system reliability, upon which overall economic growth depends. These cases suggest that sufficiency may, for the foreseeable future, find its best prospects in limited circumstances where it can be linked to the legitimation or, ironically, the economic imperatives of states. Adapted from the source document.

France's 35-hour workweek is one of the boldest progressive reforms in recent years. Drawing on existing survey and economic data, supplemented by interviews with French informants, this article examines the 35-hour week's evolution and impacts. Although commonly dismissed as economically uncompetitive, the policy package succeeded in avoiding significant labor-cost increases for business. Most 35-hour employees cite quality-of-life improvements despite the fact that wage moderation, greater variability in schedules, and intensification of work negatively impacted some—mostly lower-paid and less-skilled—workers. Taking into account employment gains, the initiative can be considered a qualified success in meeting its main aims.