https://hdl.handle.net/10419/264901 Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:25:34 GMT 2026-09-21T16:25:34Z https://hdl.handle.net/10419/340038 Title: Structural liquidity shortfalls, competition and macroeconomic stability: Conceptual synthesis of economic growth dependencies Authors: Vuorinen, Katariina E. M. Abstract: It has been proposed that stagnating and contracting economies experience macroeconomic instability due to so-called "economic growth dependencies". Yet, this concept has remained macroeconomically ambiguous, leaving unclear whether and under what conditions such dependencies may rise, leading to numerous, heterogeneous, and sometimes contradictory proposals for purported economic growth dependency mechanisms. This paper applies a post-Keynesian lens on the question of economic growth dependencies and presents a conceptual synthesis, demonstrating that the diversity, heterogeneity and inconsistencies of economic growth dependencies suggested by literature are only apparent. Stock-flow consistent approach shows that economic growth dependency, sensu stricto, comes down to one clearly definable macroeconomic mechanism: asymmetric monetary circulation where certain agents or sectors experience persistent structural liquidity shortfalls creating pressures for continued expansion of aggregate economic activity. This dynamic, however, results in structurally enforced growth only if the liquidity shortfalls cannot be resolved through redistribution or expansion of monetary supply in a competitive market environment. By using this synthesis, the paper refines conceptual boundaries of economic growth dependency and defines the necessary and sufficient conditions under which such dependency arises, clarifying the terminological debate and laying the foundation for a macroeconomically consistent theory of economic growth dependency. The paper will also demonstrate that different economic traditions (post-Keynesian, neoclassical, and ecological economics) hold differing views on economic growth dependencies due to differing model structures. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10419/340038 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10419/338100 Title: Is GDP growth necessary to maintain pensions? An empirical analysis of public pension spending and benefits in the OECD Authors: Palomera, David; Starke, Peter Abstract: The literature on growth dependencies increasingly calls for post-growth welfare states capable of functioning without reliance on GDP growth in order to remain within planetary limits. Yet empirical research on the relationship between welfare state arrangements and economic growth remains remarkably scarce, even in policy domains where growth dependence appears most plausible, such as pensions. Using panel data of 20 OECD countries from 1971 to 2022, we examine the relationship between public pension spending per capita and replacement rates (i.e. benefit generosity) on the one hand, and GDP per capita on the other. We find that while pension spending per capita remains partially coupled to GDP, pension replacement rates have become decoupled - and in many instances negatively coupled - already at relatively modest income levels. This is consistent with the literature on the social limits to growth, where decoupling likewise occurs at modest income levels. We find that labor-market factors - especially labor participation - are consistently and strongly associated with higher pension benefits. These findings have important policy implications, highlighting that the sustainability of pension systems in post-growth contexts may depend less on infinite economic expansion than on institutional and labor-market policy choices. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10419/338100 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10419/342531 Title: A research framework for ecological macroeconomics Authors: Kemp-Benedict, Eric Abstract: Ecological macroeconomics has been expanding as a sub-field within ecological economics in the last decade. Applying almost exclusively non-neoclassical, or 'heterodox', macroeconomic theory, ecological macroeconomic models incorporate biophysical stocks and flows. Yet, they are not well-suited to exploring the more transformative agendas proposed within ecological economics writ large. The challenges of doing so are prodigious, but that points to the need for research. With the ultimate goal of informing policy-oriented models, including scenario models, this paper proposes a framework for research along a 'research-to-application pipeline'. It argues the need for a common framework and suggests combining two well-established practices: from macroeconomics, the practice of characterising models by their accounting relationships, behavioural rules, and closures; and, from system dynamics modelling, the adoption of 'confidence-building procedures'. The proposed research-to-application pipeline creates a division of labour over the task of confidence building, with the accounts-behaviourclosure (or 'ABC') approach providing a common language. The paper refers to existing work and explicitly addresses the critical realist critique of model closure. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10419/342531 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10419/308087 Title: Evidence review to support the development of a Wellbeing Economy strategy in Scotland Authors: McCartney, Gerry; Hill O'Connor, Clementine; Laughlin, Sue; Robertson, Tony; Bunse, Lukas; Crighton, Matthew; McLeod, Aileen; Cochrane, Phoebe; Stuart, Francis; Black, Iain; McMaster, Robert Abstract: The Scottish Government published its 10-year National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET) in 2022. The NSET set out an ambition to create a Wellbeing Economy, but NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs) who advocate for a Wellbeing Economy and environmental sustainability were critical both of the contents of the NSET, and the process used to create it. This paper seeks to provide a review of evidence to better inform the future development of economic strategy in Scotland, and rebalance the advice the original NSET was based upon, such that it might have a better chance of realising a Wellbeing Economy in the future. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10419/308087 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z