Amsterdam Is Embracing a Radical New Economic Theory to Help Save the Environment. Could It Also Replace Capitalism?
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Amsterdam Is Embracing a Radical New Economic Theory to Help Save the Environment. Could It Also Replace Capitalism?

Ciara Nugent
Time, 2021
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In 2017, economist Kate Raworth penned her theory of “doughnut economics,” a hypothesis that explores the push/pull dynamic between the demands of economies and the constraints of an overburdened planet. Journalist Ciara Nugent explores the concept of doughnut economics in the initial steps taken by the city of Amsterdam to put the theory into practice. Economists, policy experts and business leaders will find some intriguing arguments, both pro and con, in this insightful article.

Summary

The theory of “doughnut economics” sets aside GDP growth as the primary barometer of economic success.

Economic theory continues to evolve, with an increasing focus on the environment, resource limitations, and widening income and wealth inequality gaps. In Amsterdam, policy experts and politicians are pursuing a new construct based on the idea of doughnut economics developed by economist Kate Raworth. In her 2017 book, Raworth presented sustainable economies as bounded by the Earth’s resource constraints – a doughnut’s outer ring – but requiring a social structure that supports people’s basic needs – the doughnut’s inner...

About the Author

Ciara Nugent is a journalist for TIME.

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