About Dr Katherine Trebeck
Katherine splits her time between Australia and Scotland and perhaps unsurprisingly loves Australian gum trees, the rain, and the Scottish mountains. When life allows she is invariably cooking for friends (whether in Canberra or Glasgow), ideally accompanied by a glass or two of Aussie wine!
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VIDEOS
Addressing today’s crises
European Policy Centre policy dialogue
The economic basis of happiness
Happiness and its causes conference
Wealth of Nations 2.0
Opening remarks to WEAll Scotland’s conference
Jim Chalmers has promised a wellbeing budget – what could it look like?
Interview for ABC 730 Report
Global Ethical Finance Initiative
Conversation with Kaisie Rayner
Vandaag het gesprek met Katherine Trebeck
Erno Hannink interview.
Why the future economy should focus on well-being and not just GDP.
ABC News.
What a wellbeing economy can do for all Australians
George Institute webinar.
What comes after neoliberalism?
Debating Europe discussion alongside Yanis Varoufakis & Martin Wolf.
Reflecting on the WEAll journey
Interview with WEAll Scotland’s Frances Raynor
It’s time to stop business as usual
Policy Press webinar with Carl Rhodes et al.
WEAll Meets
In conversation with Isabel Nuesse
In conversation: the economy and climate
With Caroline Lucas MP & Jimmy Paul at Common Ground fest
Ecological Economics at COP 26
Facing the Future event
VPRO documentary on an economy that is better than growth (Other contributors mainly in Dutch)
Actions speak louder than words: high hopes for Cop26
Kirsty Innes’ Women in Sustainability conversation
Delivering wellbeing with Doughnut Economics
Conversation with Kate Raworth & Sophie Howe, hosted by WEAll Cymru Wales Hub
Keynote for Institute of Directors annual conference
Building an Economy of Wellbeing
Interview for Victorian Council of Social Services
Understanding the Wellbeing Economy
Brussels Economic Forum debate
“For a sustainable post-covid recovery, this forum believes we should replace GDP with an alternative well-being indicator”. June 2021
Keynote to Australia 21 conference
Wellbeing budgets and the Wellbeing Economy Agenda
Postgrowth and Degrowth: the (Im)possibility of GreenGrowth and its altneratives
d/carb event with Tim Jackson and Susan Paulson
Keynote to ICIC conference
Population Health and Wellbeing and Resilient Communities
ZERO conference on Wellbeing Economy
From 45 minutes (but the first section is worth watching!)
Discussing Climate Change and the Wellbeing Economy with the Researchers Desk (Sweden)
In conversation with Dr Jen Hinton
Launch of WEAll Netherlands hub
Soft launch of a new WEAll hub
Power to the People: Wealth & Wellbeing
Development Trusts NI conference
Campaign launch for a new parliamentary petition
Hosted by Caroline Lucas MP & the APPG on Limits to Growth
In conversation with Professor Ben Friedman
For the David Hume Institute
Visit Scotland journey to change
Why collaboration is crucial for building a wellbeing economy
Scottish Laity Network
What are economists saying that gives us hope?
Trinity College Build Back Better webinar
Discussing a better future with Martin Johnstone & Karyn McClusky
Scottish Climate Assembly
Why our measures of progress need to change to address the climate emergency
New Economy Discussion
What is the Wellbeing Economy and why should we value the wellbeing of people and the planet more? Hosted by Pakhuis De Zwijger.
Scotland: The Recovery
Exploring how Scotland can move forward to build an inclusive post-pandemic society and well-being economy
Prospects for a Wellbeing Economy
Schumacher Lecture
Interview with Kees Klomp
The Thrive Institute for RVO
Opening address to the Upstream conference
Upstream’s online event
For more videos see my video archive here
PODCASTS
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Why is a ‘well-being economy’ important?
Research is being done globally into the idea of a wellbeing economy, starting with a wellbeing budget, and the concept is already being trialled.
How does it work? And could it help relieve the rising cost of living?
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#115 FEPS Talks
In this FEPS talk episode Katherine Trebeck, co-founder of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, and Andreas Dimmelmeier, Policy Analyst on Climate and Environment, introduce and debate about the concept of a Wellbeing economy.
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Kicking Policy Goals
On the final episode of Policy Forum Pod for 2022, Katherine Trebeck and Millie Rooney join us to reflect on this year’s big policy issues and consider the opportunities for change that lie before us.
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How a ‘well-being’ based economy can save the planet
Katherine Trebeck presented at the RCS Convergence Conference last July and her compelling session there and this interview centres around the economies of the world, their often misguided methods of measurement and indicators of ‘success’, and introduces the principles of the ‘wellbeing economy’, focusing on more human and community-centric measures of success and prosperity.
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Rethinking Economics to Create Shared Prosperity
As the impacts of climate breakdown intensify, the cost of living crisis takes hold globally, and levels of inequality remain stubbornly high, it begs the question: is our economic system working to meet the needs of people and the planet?
For more podcasts see my podcast archive here
BLOGS & ARTICLES
For Blogs and Articles pre-dating 2018 please click PDF button below
BOOKS
Towards Sustainable Well-Being: Moving beyond GDP in Canada and the World
Towards Sustainable Well-Being (edited by Anders Hayden, Céofride Gaudet and Jeffrey Wilson) examines existing efforts and emerging possibilities to improve upon gross domestic product as the dominant indicator of economic and social performance. Contributions from leading international and Canadian researchers in the field of beyond-GDP measurement offer a rich range of perspectives on alternative ways to measure well-being and sustainability, along with lessons from around the world on how to bring those metrics into the policy process.
Thrive: fundamentals for a new economy
In ‘Thrive. Fundamentals for a New Economy’, Kees Klomp and Shinta Oosterwaal provide insights into alternative approaches that are sustainable and just for both society and the planet. In twenty-four essays, internationally renowned economic thinkers share the alternatives, such as doughnut economics, wellbeing economics, common good economics, regenerative economics, commons economics, local economics, bioregional economics, indigenous economics and degrowth economics. Each provides a realistic and enticing vision of a thriving future.
Scotland After The Virus
Scotland After the Virus is a book responding to Scotland’s experience of the COVID pandemic and imagining Scotland after the virus.
Edited by Gerry Hassan & Simon Barrow who have previously collaborated with A Nation Changed in 2017 and Scotland the Brave? in 2019, this is their first book to include fiction and poetry as well as nonfiction. The book has sections covering politics, wellbeing, equality, culture and more.
The Economics of Arrival: ideas for a grown-up economy (with Jeremy Williams)
What do people and planet really need from the economy? Is the quality of life undermined by the drive for economic growth at all costs? In this provocative book, Trebeck and Williams describe a new challenge: a move from expansion to inclusion.
New Thinking for the British Economy
Neoliberalism – the set of economic ideas and policies that have dominated politics for the past 40 years – is rapidly losing legitimacy in the face of multiple crises: stagnant or falling living standards, sharply rising inequality of income and wealth, financial fragility and environmental breakdown. At this critical juncture, new ideas about the kind of society we want to live in, and the future we want to see, are needed more than ever.
‘Fletcher and Steve’
Chapter in Knock Twice (edited by Andrew Simms), a new collection of 25 modern folk tales for troubling times. Realising the limits of facts and policy alone to change the world, an innovative group of leading experts on many of the most critical issues facing us – from climate change to inequality and corrupt corporations- has written folk tales for our troubling times.
Tackling Timorous Economics
What is the best way to run a country? How long should a person be obliged to work every day? What will the economy look like after Brexit?
In this new take on the Scottish economy, experts Trebeck, Boyd and Kerevan address how our economy can serve us, as opposed to the people serving the economy. They believe that current economic policies are not aligned with what we as people need in these times of rampant inequality and inequitable distribution, advocating an increased focus on the quality of Scotland’s economy.
Wellbeing and Quality of Life Assessment
Human development may encompass social, cultural and spiritual facets as well as economic improvement, and development organizations are beginning to recognize this fact. But building into programming a wider understanding of development throws up a number of questions: how do our organizations define wellbeing and quality of life?
What do target communities in the global north or south mean by a quality of life? How can we measure change in wellbeing, and attribute it to our programming?
After Independence
At the height of the Scottish Independence debate, After Independence offers an in-depth and varied exploration of the possibilities for Scotland, from both pro and anti-independence standpoints.
Drawing together over two dozen leading minds on the subject, After Independence offers a comprehensive and balanced analysis of Scotland’s current and prospective political, economic, social and cultural situation.
Marketing for Morality? The Scottish Case and the Humankind Index
Place marketing strategies are becoming increasingly sophisticated with city branding, in particular, developing as an important subfield within this literature (Kotler et al., 2002). City branding campaigns often highlight consumption opportunities which may be seen as a means of promoting recovering from the identity crisis caused by de-industrialization. Indeed, Miles (2010) suggests that the consuming city has become central to urban life to the extent that policy-makers and urban planners focus on consumption at the expense of anything else.
Mothering, Poverty and Consumption
Chapter (with Kathy Hamilton and Lisa Glass) in Motherhoods, Markets and Consumption The Making of Mothers in Contemporary Western Cultures (edited by O’Donohoe, Hogg et al).
This chapter focuses on the experiences of mothers in poverty within the context of UK consumer culture. We follow relative poverty definition, referring to those who lack the resources necessary to participate in the normal customs of society and are unable to obtain goods and services needed for an ‘adequate’ and ‘socially acceptable’ standard of living (Darley and Johnson 1985: 206).
PROJECTS
The Democracy Collaborative
Member of the Board
Being Bold: Wellbeing Budgets for Children
Lead author
Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland
Co-Founder
Schumacher Institute
Distinguished Fellow
Wellbeing Economy Alliance
Senior Strategic Advisor
Wellbeing Economy Governments
Instigator
Scottish Government Sustainable Renewal Advisory Group
Member
Wellbeing Economics Film
Subject matter
Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP)
Advisory Board Member
Member of Demystifying Decoupling Advisory Group
Member
The Leaders Institute
Fellow
University of Strathclyde
Senior Visiting Research Fellow
Author of ‘The Money’ chapter
Omina Foundation
Advisory Board Member
Living Well Within Limits (Lili) Project
Advisory Board Member
Club de Madrid
Rapporteur Shared Societies and Sustainability Working Group
Humankind Index
Rapporteur Shared Societies and Sustainability Working Group
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University of the West of Scotland
Honorary Professor
Fairer Fife Commission
Commissioner
WWF Low Carbon Infrastructure Task Force
Task Force Member
What happens when we ask ‘but why?’ and turn our attention to the underlying patterns of power, inequality and environmental impact?
Katherine takes audiences into a conversation about the root causes of today’s great challenges. With a blend of humour and insights of a range of prospects and evidence she makes the complex accessible, sparks new ways of thinking and spurs audiences to explore their role in making the world a better place
ENDORSEMENTS
Katherine takes audiences into a conversation about the root causes of today’s great challenges.
“Katherine was absolutely amazing, her delivery and content were engaging and profound. We so appreciated her willingness to help us out in a tight spot, which she did with grace and aplomb – and substance!“
Coro Strandberg Social Purpose Institute
“Katherine is an amazing speaker – I could listen to her all day“
Jessica Mével Ellen Macarthur Foundation
“GIZ was fortunate to welcome Katherine as a keynote speaker to the GIZ Symposium on Just Transition in Berlin…With her remarkable stage presence, memorable words and arguments and a strong belief in a better future, she was not only able to bring across what it takes to create a more just future to the over 300 people in the audience, but every audience member also felt as if she was talking to them directly.
Her approachable nature also meant that she was continuously surrounded by symposium participants who wanted to gain more insights on what Just Transition means based on her high level of expertise in this field. Katherine’s various inputs, not only on stage but also during her active participation in break-out events, have contributed towards shaping the GIZ’s understanding of Just Transition and what it takes.”
Dr. Elke Matthaei Climate Change, Rural Development, Infrastructure, GIZ
“Katherine’s talk at our conference was totally inspiring. She is a brilliant speaker and effortlessly communicated a pretty compelling case for system change in a way that was relevant to our sector (housing). I think everyone who left that session was buzzing about what they could do to support a wellbeing economy.
If you are looking for a conference speaker who will give you delegates something to think about afterwards then I would definitely recommend Katherine.”
Callum Chomczuk CEO of Chartered Institute of Housing, Scotland.
“Katherine is an inspiring communicator with a remarkable ability to enthuse a non-specialist audience about economics and its role in building a thriving society. Her expert theoretical knowledge was firmly rooted in practical examples which enabled our conference attendees to feel informed and hopeful.
We could easily go on…We are so grateful for the way [Katherine was] able to communicate so clearly and inspire our attendees.”
Roo Stewart Church and Society.
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