Transforming economics for sustainability: From incremental to radical change

In his dissertation Transforming Economics for Sustainability, Hans Stegeman examines how dominant economic theories fail to address today’s ecological and social crises. Mainstream models continue to prioritise growth, efficiency, and individual preferences, treating environmental degradation and inequality as externalities. Stegeman argues that this framing is no longer adequate in the face of systemic challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and widening social disparities.

The dissertation combines theoretical critique, empirical analysis, and case studies to develop five key insights for transformative change. These insights emphasise that wellbeing is plural and context-specific, that systems are interdependent and subject to real limits, that collective welfare cannot be reduced to aggregated individual choices, that prevailing worldviews shape institutions, and that incremental change is insufficient in the face of tipping points. Rather than treating sustainability as an adjustment to existing models, Stegeman advocates a full reorientation of economic thought and practice.

Based on this analysis, the dissertation offers policy recommendations for redesigning macroeconomic frameworks, developing fiscal and financial tools that promote long-term public value, and enabling institutional conditions for collective decision-making. The research contributes to the growing body of work advocating for a pluralist, post-growth economic paradigm that operates within planetary boundaries and prioritises societal wellbeing.