The Emergence of the Doughnut Economics in Policy: A Narrative Review

Abstract

The ecological and social challenges that humanity faces must not be further overlooked. This work is a response to the growing awareness of these crises, driven by ongoing discussions in the field of degrowth and ecological economics scholarships. The paper employs a narrative review to categorize the different research traditions within Doughnut Economics (DE) and their potential implications for economic policy. The DE is an alternative economic framework that defines a safe and just space for humanity. The results obtained indicate a significant level of fragmentation among both the literature on DE and the broader range of alternative economic models challenging the current growth paradigm, thus making it premature to draw definitive conclusions about the potential for the DE to establish itself as a new policy framework. Yet, some progress needs to be recognized, especially regarding the main research traditions identified: (i) the measurement of the safe and just space, (ii) future studies of societal scenarios, (iii) provisioning systems, and (iv) consumer expending and behavior, notably around the concept of the consumption corridors. Lastly, there are also studies that involve dialogues with the DE, such as agreeing with it but adding new perspectives, or disagreeing and complementing it with constructive criticism.

Keywords: planetary boundaries, social foundation, ecological economics, sufficiency, degrowth

JEL Classification: Q56, Q57, Q58