About Dr Katherine Trebeck
Katherine is a writer, a researcher, and an advocate for economic system change.
She is Senior Strategic Advisor for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance – a global collaboration she co-founded in 2018, the same year she co-founded WEAll Scotland. Her book The Economics of Arrival: Ideas for a Grown-Up Economy (co-authored with Jeremy Williams and published by Policy Press) was published in early 2019.
Katherine instigated the group of Wellbeing Economy Governments; developed Oxfam’s Humankind Index; and led Oxfam’s work downscaling the ‘doughnut’ for various countries. She was Rapporteur for Club de Madrid’s Working Group on Shared Societies and Sustainability and is part of a range of advisory groups, including the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity (University of Surrey); The Democracy Collaborative; the Living Well Within Limits project (University of Leeds); A Good Life for All Within Planetary Boundaries (University of Leeds); the Demystifying Decoupling Commission (Zero Waste Scotland); and the Scottish Government’s Sustainable Renewal Advisory Group.
Katherine is Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Schumacher Institute. She has over eight years’ experience in various roles with Oxfam GB – as a Senior Researcher for the Global Research Team, UK Policy Manager, and Research and Policy Advisor for Oxfam Scotland. She holds Bachelor Degrees in Economics and Politics (University of Melbourne) and holds a PhD in Political Science from the Australian National University.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for an Australian living in Scotland, Katherine loves the rain and the Scottish mountains. When life allows she is invariably cooking for friends in her beloved adopted home of Glasgow, ideally accompanied by a glass of wine or two from Australia.
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VIDEOS
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
Provocation Author for Fair Work Spotlight
National Advisory Council on Woman and Girls
Crisis of Understanding? Paradigm shifts, priority changes and future of the state
OECD’s #GovAfterShock webinar
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
Opening Plenary: Recovering from the pandemic
European Health Forum Gastein
Our World Reimagined
Creating a Wellbeing Economy for GCVS
Thinking about Recovery
An audience with the CUSP Advisory Committee
For more videos see my video archive here
For more podcasts see my podcast archive here
BLOGS & ARTICLES
For Blogs and Articles pre-dating 2018 please click PDF button below
BOOKS
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
Download PDF
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.
“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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