PUBLICATIONS

As our work progresses, publications are arising from our research themes and cross-cutting projects. We produce working papers, journal articles, evidence submissions to government enquiries, essays, books and book chapters. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a monthly digest in your inbox.  If you want to hear more frequently from us, you can subscribe to email updates from the website directly.


232 Results

Held to Ransom: What happens when investment firms take over UK care homes | Report and Briefing Paper

Through a series of in-depth interviews with care workers Christine Corlet Walker et al explore the impact of investment firms on working conditions and quality of care in UK care homes. Combined with an analysis of care company accounts generating insights into the impacts of financialisation on the UK care sector, the report shows how investment firms are using extreme strategies to reduce staffing levels and cut costs in the name of profit, with appalling consequences for care.

Ecological macroeconomic assessment of meeting a carbon budget without negative emissions | Journal Paper by Martin R. Sers
2022 |

This paper presents a stock-flow consistent input–output integrated assessment model designed to explore the dual dynamics of transitioning to renewable energy while electrifying end use subject a carbon budget constraint. Unlike the majority of conventional integrated assessment model analyses, this paper does not assume the deployment of carbon dioxide removal and examines the role that alternative economic pathways (steady-states and degrowth) may play in achieving 1.5°C consistent emissions pathways.

Placing people at the heart of climate action—PLOS Climate opinion paper

Tackling climate change cannot be achieved solely through technological breakthroughs or new climate models. We must build on the strong social science knowledge base and develop a more visible, responsive and interdisciplinary-oriented social science that engages with people and is valued in its diversity by decision-makers from government, industry, civil society and law.

Reducing the environmental impact of clothing: an exploration of the potential of alternative business models | Journal Paper

Business models providing used clothing to consumers have the potential to reduce pressure on raw materials and primary production. This research used in-depth interviews and a literature review to improve understanding of alternative business models in the fashion sector.

‘Making financial sense of the future’: actuaries and the management of climate-related financial risk | Journal Paper
2022 |

This paper seeks to explore how professionals in the financial sector understand the challenge that climate change presents to economy and society. It is a case study into how ‘climate-related financial risk’ is understood in a particular area of expertise—within the actuarial profession.

Unprecedented?—How COVID-19 Revealed the Politics of Our Economy | Book by Will Davies, Sahil Jai Dutta, Nick Taylor and Martina Tazzioli

A critical and evidence-based account of the COVID-19 pandemic as a political–economic rupture, exposing underlying power struggles and social injustices. By CUSP researchers Will Davies, Nick Taylor, and PERC colleagues.

Materialistic Value Orientation and Wellbeing | Journal paper by Helga Dittmar and Amy Isham

This paper documents how materialistic value orientations have been linked to poorer wellbeing across different facets of wellbeing (personal, social, and environmental) and that these negative associations have been recorded across the lifespan.

Exploring the Role of UK Government Policy in Developing the University Entrepreneurial Finance Ecosystem for Cleantech | Journal Paper

Vast sums of public money are invested into universities globally as anchor institutions and knowledge bases providing seedbed resources for research and development and entrepreneurship. This paper examines two UK case studies of government support from the “Innovation Knowledge Centre” (IKC) program to translate research into industry innovation for public good.

Living good lives within market economies—A discussion of Michael Sandel’s What Money Can’t Buy and The Tyranny of Merit | Working Paper

Almost everything is up for sale these days. The belief that markets are an invaluable instrument to direct our common economic efforts is deeply embedded in Western societies. But what role should markets play in a state of sustainable prosperity? This paper provides a review of Michael Sandel’s What Money Can’t Buy and The Tyranny of Merit.

A critique of the marketisation of long-term residential and nursing home care | Journal Paper

Long-term care systems across countries within the OECD have undergone a progressive marketisation and financialisation in recent decades. In this Personal View, we argue that the accomapnying neoliberal market values make poor guiding principles for the care sector, identifying the dysfunctional dynamics that arise as a result, and reflecting on the clinical implications of each, with a focus on facility-based care.

Bringing postgrowth research into policy | Working Paper by Richard McNeill Douglas

Drawing lessons from a six-month project funded by the Laudes Foundation, as well as from a wider review of evidence, this report analyses the barriers to bringing postgrowth research into policy. It concludes by making recommendations on the keys to doing this more effectively.

The Problematic Role of Materialistic Values in the Pursuit of Sustainable Well-Being | Journal Paper

Strong materialistic values help to maintain consumer capitalism, but they can have negative consequences for individual well-being, for social equity and for environmental sustainability. In this paper, we add to the existing literature on the adverse consequences of materialistic values by highlighting their negative association with engagement in attitudes and actions that support the achievement of sustainable well-being.

Tripartite partnerships and sustainable consumption in Brazil: an evaluation of possibilities and risks | Journal Paper

Critically evaluating existing literature, this paper discusses the potential of tripartite partnerships (TPPs) to advance sustainable consumption practices. The authors argue that multi-sector partnership approaches can strengthen a socio-political basis for the advancement of public policies and inter-sectorial dynamics offering mechanisms that can foster sustainable consumption.

Startup ventures and equity finance | Journal Paper by Yannis Pierrakis and Robyn Owen

How do Business Accelerators and Business Angels’ assess the human capital of socio-environmental mission led entrepreneurs? This paper investigates the role of entrepreneurs’ human capital on the potential of newly created ventures to receive equity funding from Accelerators and Business Angels using a resource-based approach to entrepreneurship theory.

Land is the new frontier to greenwash corporate sins | Letter to the Financial Times
2022 |

Letter by John Meadley and CUSP director Tim Jackson to the Financial Times, highlighting the urgent need for decent land use policy, to prevent the same predatory financial practices prevalent in the social care sector from taking hold in rural communities too.

Advancing the circular economy: Insights from small sustainable fashion enterprises in the UK | Journal Paper

Building on a longitudinal interview-based study, the authors examine how micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the UK fashion industry advance the circular economy (CE).

Self-transcendent experiences and sustainable prosperity | Working Paper by Patrick Elf, Amy Isham and Tim Jackson

The achievement of sustainable prosperity requires the enhancement of human wellbeing alongside increased care for the environment. In this working paper, Patrick Elf, Amy Isham and Tim Jackson explore the emerging potential of Self-Transcendent Experiences (STEs) to deliver beneficial effects on human wellbeing and sustainable attitudes and behaviours.

Beyond the Debt Controversy—Re-framing fiscal and monetary policy for a post-pandemic era | Working Paper and Policy Briefing

In the years since the financial crisis, a heated debate has broken out amongst macroeconomists about the appropriate roles of fiscal and monetary policy in managing public sector debt. This working paper and accompanying policy briefing introduce the main lines of argument on both sides of the controversy. We find i.a. that a return to fiscal austerity would be both dangerous and unjustified and that moving beyond ideology is key to the levelling-up agenda.

Aligning the UK’s economic goals with environmental sustainability | Evidence submissions to the EAC Beyond GDP inquiry

Ahead of hearings planned for 9 February 2022, the UK Environmental Audit Committee invited written submissions to examine how the UK Government could incorporate environmental sustainability into its leading measures of UK economic success, addressing questions around ‘inclusive wealth’, measurement of national wellbeing, and national government accounting.

SANKEYSIM Model Description, Data and Scenarios | Working Paper by Peter A Victor and Mojgan Chapariha

SankeySim was developed to support the work of the Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel on the Circular Economy in Canada and the preparation of their report Turning Point (2021). In this working paper, we describe the SankeySim model that calculates the impact on materials throughput of various measures intended to increase the circularity of the Canadian economy.

A Commoners’ Climate Movement | Book Chapter by Lucy Stone, Gustavo Montes de OcaIan and Ian Christie

This book chapter as part of the edited collection ‘Addressing the Climate Crisis: Local action in theory and practice’ draws from Elinor Ostrom’s scholarship on managing commons and a wider literature reviewto make the case for cooperative community-based action in the domains of community energy, agriculture and transport.

Social innovation for biodiversity: A literature review and research challenges | Journal Paper

Calls for social innovation to help with the effort to halt biodiversity loss are manifold. Yet, a systematic overview of research on social innovation and biodiversity is missing and this paper contributes by focusing on social innovation to tackle the drivers of biodiversity loss and unsustainability.

Finding flow: exploring the potential for sustainable fulfilment | Journal Paper by Amy Isham and Tim Jackson

In this article, Amy Isham and Tim Jackson explore the dynamics of a psychological state known as flow. By synthesising the results of a series of experience sampling, survey, and experimental studies, we identify optimal activities that are shown to have low environmental costs and high levels of human wellbeing.

A systematic review of the life cycle inventory of clothing | Journal Paper

The clothing industry is a significant contributor to environmental degradation. Yet, easily accessible life cycle inventory (LCI) data that can be used in decision making by practitioners and researchers are lacking. This study addresses this gap.

An investigation of the mass-market fashion design process | Journal Paper

New study examining the fashion design process as practised at the mass-market level. The mass-market design process is found to prioritise profits rather than aesthetic aspects, with the buyer exercising more power than the designer. This hinders creativity, which, in turn, may impede a move towards more environmentally benign designs.

Pleasure and virtue—Associations of pro-environmental behaviours with hedonic and eudemonic wellbeing among young working adults | Journal Paper

A growing body of research demonstrates that wellbeing is positively correlated with ecologically sustainable behaviours, yet there is still much to understand about the nature of this association. This study suggest that pro-environmental behaviours are not only compatible with wellbeing due to a virtuous sense of “doing good,” but they may be inherently pleasurable.

Tackling predatory financial practices in the adult social care sector | Briefing note for the UK Health and Care Bill

The Health and Care Bill has its second reading in the House of Lords on Tuesday 7 December. Coinciding with a new Panorama investigation, Crisis in Care: Follow the Money, this briefing proposes three ways in which the Health and Care Bill should be amended to tackle the harmful impacts of financialisation in the care home sector.

Herman Daly’s Economics for a Full World—His Life and Ideas | Book by Peter A Victor
2021 |

As the first biography of Professor Herman Daly, this book provides an in-depth account of one of the leading thinkers and most widely read writers on economics, environment and sustainability. Drawing on extensive interviews with Daly and in-depth analysis of his publications and debates, Peter Victor presents a unique insight into Daly’s life from childhood to the present day, describing his intellectual development, inspirations and influence.

“Two quid, chicken and chips, done”: Young people’s sense of living well in the city through the lens of fast food consumption | Journal Paper

Fast food seems unequivocally at odds with any moves towards more sustainable food consumption. It is identified as a major contributor to obesity, health inequalities, and to environmental impacts through its production and distribution. However, this problematisation of fast food ignores its contribution to understandings of “living well”, particularly for young people.

Why health should replace wealth as the heart of prosperity | Blog by Tim Jackson and Julian Sheather

The economic system to which we are in thrall throws us out of balance, Tim Jackson and Julian Sheather write in this blog. By failing to meet our most essential needs it is doomed to immiserate and, ultimately, sicken us. We urgently need to regain a richer, more satisfying understanding of ourselves, and our place in the world.

Modelling the macroeconomics of a ‘closing the green finance gap’ scenario for an energy transition | Journal Paper

Reaching the UK net-zero emissions target translates into substantial investment requirements into low-carbon energy infrastructure. However, investors are currently not investing sufficiently in renewable energy capacity, leading to the so-called green finance gap.

Dear World Leaders—A response to children’s letters about climate change | A Book for Children
2021 |

This is a book which is set out to help children learn about climate change and support them in understanding some of the solutions to the many problems the world is facing. The cross-institutional project was led by Prof Aled Jones at the Global Sustainability Institute. It includes lesson plans and activities for children to help them think about the world with climate change, how they can be active in responding to its challenges and what might happen over the next ten years.

Zero Carbon Sooner—Revised case for an early zero carbon target for the UK | By Tim Jackson

This paper is an update of an earlier briefing note, revised to take account of new findings from the IPCC’s updated 6th Assessment Report (AR6). The broad aim of the paper is to establish how soon the UK should aim for (net) zero carbon emissions.

Moments of Change: Managing material possessions in the transition to retirement | Journal paper by Sue Venn and Kate Burningham

Drawing on serial interviews with individuals in the United Kingdom, we explore how the transition to retirement highlights the complexity of participants’ attachment to things, and what the implications for sustainable consumption and for later-life wellbeing are.

Lessons From Government Venture Capital Funds to Enable the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy: The UK Case | Journal paper by Robyn Owen
2021 |

This article addresses a pertinent question facing government policymakers: how best to support VC to achieve climate change objectives? Based on over 100 in-depth interviews, it focuses on the supply-side policy, design, and implementation of four UK government-backed venture capital funds (GVCFs) at various stages of their development.

A Snapshot of the UK Social Investment Market | Report | Blog by Jess Daggers
2021 |

Interest in the social and environmental ‘purpose of business’ is growing. Could it be part of a move towards a better kind of economy and what kind of investment is needed? CUSP Fellow Dr Jess Daggers points to the history of the social investment market in the UK as a source of insight into the attempt to combine financial tools and social purpose.