Your Wellbeing Economics Questions Answered (FAQ)
FAQs and statistics for the growing economic (r)evolution
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Since my posts about wellbeing economies have gone viral several times now, I’ve noticed some common questions. I’ve taken the time to centralise them here, along with some links as a starting point for your wellbeing economics journey.
It’s an umbrella term for hundreds of movements, so this is by no means comprehensive. If you have further questions, please comment below and I’ll add them to the list.
What is a Wellbeing Economy / Community Wealth?
A wellbeing economy prioritizes human and ecological flourishing rather than just financial growth. It represents a shift from "survival economies" that extract more than they give back to systems that regenerate resources and build community wealth.
Wellbeing Economy is an umbrella term for hundreds of different terms, frameworks, and movements, so whether you call it regenerative, circular, solidarity, or wellbeing economy, these approaches share common principles: community benefit, regenerative practices, and practical implementation.
Any economic system that prioritises metrics that result in better health and happiness for people and improvements to our environment rather than prioritising GDP or sole financial gain, is inherently a wellbeing economic system.
Community wealth is the how of wellbeing economics. Our favourite framework for this is Community Wealth Building, a fundamental and proven framework with practical steps. Other forms of community wealth are cooperatives and social enterprise, as well as ecovillages, mutual aid, and the sharing of resources within communities and regions.
Need to see it in action?
There isn’t much highly produced media or standardised resources on this yet (which is why I’m here!), but I really love this recent one from Moconomy, which touches on a few stories of what’s happening with this in the US.
A New Economy - Inside the Revolution You’re Not Hearing About
Is a Wellbeing Economy a Care/Sharing/Circular/Gift/Regenerative/Etc Economy?
There are hundreds of movements I’ve loosely organized into eight categories:
Systems Innovators: Doughnut Economics, Just Transition, Participatory Budgeting, etc.
Economic Innovators: B Corps, Community Wealth Building, Platform Cooperativism, Social Enterprise, etc.
Technology Innovators: Open Source, Digital Commons, DAOs, etc.
Commons Cultivators: Community Land Trusts, Mutual Aid Networks, Timebanking, etc.
Ecological Cultivators: Permaculture, Regenerative Agriculture, Food Forests, etc.
Wellness Cultivators: Trauma-Informed Care, Community Healing Practices, etc.
Cultural Catalysts: Narrative Change, Solutions Journalism, Cultural Organizing, etc.
How will they measure wellbeing?
Great question - and the good news is countries are already measuring this with real frameworks, not just theory.
What they're actually measuring: Scotland uses the National Performance Framework tracking 81 indicators including mental wellbeing, biodiversity, energy security, and community belonging alongside economic measures. New Zealand's Living Standards Framework measures four types of capital: financial, human (health/skills), social (relationships/institutions), and natural (environment). Iceland focuses on quality of life indicators including work-life balance, social connections, and environmental sustainability.
Common wellbeing indicators include:
Health outcomes and life expectancy
Education quality and access
Environmental quality and sustainability
Housing affordability and security
Community connection and social trust
Work-life balance and job satisfaction
Income equality and economic security
Mental health and life satisfaction
But it's not just top-down government frameworks: Social enterprises and cooperatives - which form the bulk of the economic movement - are deciding on their own measures for what wellbeing means in their culture. A worker cooperative might measure job satisfaction and democratic participation. A community land trust might track housing stability and neighborhood cohesion. A platform cooperative might measure data sovereignty and worker ownership.
This grassroots approach allows for incredible flexibility and adaptation. Every wellbeing economy initiative can evolve their measures based on what matters most to their community and context.
The frameworks vary: Kate Raeworth's Doughnut Economics model measures whether we're operating within planetary boundaries while meeting everyone's basic needs. Some places use Gross National Happiness (Bhutan pioneered this) or Genuine Progress Indicators. Purpose-drive business models build principles and purpose into their founding documents.
It's evolving: No framework is perfect, and there are many approaches as people figure out how to measure what really matters. But as systems theory tells us, just changing the purpose of a system changes its behavior. So once governments and businesses start optimizing for wellbeing instead of just GDP, the measurement methods improve through practice.
The beautiful thing is we're not waiting for perfect metrics - we're implementing and refining as we go.
Can you provide examples of this system in practice historically or today and the outcomes?
Absolutely - there's substantial evidence these systems work, both historically and today, with measurable outcomes.
Historic success stories: Mondragon Corporation (Spain, 1956-present): Started as one cooperative, now 80,000+ worker-owners across 100+ cooperatives. Survived the 2008 financial crisis with zero layoffs while Spanish unemployment hit 25%. Annual revenue over €12 billion, proving worker ownership scales.
Credit unions during 2008 crisis: Had significantly lower failure rates than traditional banks. Members kept their savings while bank customers lost billions. Credit unions continued lending to communities when banks stopped.
Contemporary examples with measurable results: Preston Model (UK): Redirected £75 million in local spending through anchor institutions. Unemployment dropped from above national average to below. Local business creation increased 20%. Now being replicated across multiple UK cities.
Scotland's wellbeing framework (2007-present): Since implementation, shows improved mental health service access, reduced child poverty rates, and better environmental quality metrics compared to GDP-focused regions.
Cleveland Evergreen Cooperatives: Created 300+ living-wage jobs for residents, keeps $3+ million annually circulating locally instead of leaving the community. Worker-owners report higher job satisfaction and economic stability.
Platform cooperatives: Stocksy (photography) distributes 90% of revenue to photographer-owners vs traditional stock photo exploitation. Resonate (music streaming) gives artists higher royalty rates and users ownership stakes.
Resilience data across movements: Worker cooperatives show 3x survival rates compared to traditional businesses. Community land trusts maintain affordability for decades while surrounding areas gentrify. Kindred in Liverpool has a 90%+ success rate incubating Social Trading Organisations. Community energy cooperatives provide stable local renewable energy. These models consistently outperform during economic crises because they prioritize resilience over extraction.
Define well-being. What are your thoughts there?
You've hit on exactly where things get interesting. The philosophical debates about defining wellbeing could go on forever, but what's actually happening is much more practical and creative.
Communities are solving this locally: Worker cooperatives often define wellbeing through democratic participation in decisions, fair profit-sharing, and reasonable work-life balance. Community land trusts measure it via housing stability and neighborhood affordability. Credit unions focus on member financial security and service quality. Each context gets to decide what matters most.
Some frameworks being used: Scotland's 81 indicators include mental health service access, biodiversity levels, and community belonging. New Zealand measures four types of capital: financial, human, social, and natural. Kate Raeworth's Doughnut Economics looks at operating within planetary boundaries while meeting basic needs. But there are hundreds of approaches.
Where to explore these frameworks:
Wellbeing Economy Alliance (weall.org) - has detailed frameworks and case studies from member countries
Doughnut Economics Action Lab (doughnuteconomics.org) - Kate Raeworth's practical tools and city implementations
Scotland's National Performance Framework - shows their 81 wellbeing indicators in practice
New Zealand Treasury's Living Standards Framework - their four capitals approach
Cultural variations make it richer: Indigenous communities might prioritize seven-generation thinking and land relationships. Urban communities focus on transit access and housing costs. Rural areas emphasize local business vitality and food security. Tech cooperatives measure data sovereignty and algorithm transparency.
Why the flexibility works: Instead of endless debates about the "correct" definition, communities experiment with what works and adjust based on results. A farming cooperative in Vermont needs different metrics than a platform cooperative in Berlin.
Common patterns emerge anyway: Despite the variation, themes appear: basic needs met, meaningful work with dignity, community connection, environmental health, and having voice in decisions that affect you.
The real fun is watching how creatively different communities solve this puzzle.
“This practice of broader, wholistic policy evaluation has been discussed for decades in a theoretical way, so it's wonderful to see it made real. Do you happen to know of any materials I can read or watch that dig into the specifics?”
Love that you want to dig into the specifics! There are some excellent resources now that this has moved from theory to practice.
By the way, we are building out a massive resource for this through our Community Wealth & Wellbeing Economy Wiki at Connectioning.
Essential reading:
"Doughnut Economics" by Kate Raeworth - The foundational book that bridges theory to practical application
Scotland's National Performance Framework - Search online for their official documents showing 81 wellbeing indicators and implementation methodology
New Zealand Treasury's Living Standards Framework - Their reports on measuring four types of capital and policy application
"Prosperity without Growth" by Tim Jackson - Academic but accessible look at post-growth economics
Democracy Collaborative's Community Wealth Building resources - Practical guides on anchor institutions and local ownership models
IPBES Transformative Change Assessment
Online resources:
Wellbeing Economy Alliance (weall.org) - Country case studies and policy implementation guides
Doughnut Economics Action Lab (doughnuteconomics.org) - City-level implementation examples like Amsterdam
Centre for Wellbeing Economics at Cambridge - Research papers on policy evaluation methods
Democracy Collaborative - Community wealth building case studies and implementation guides
Our Transformative Change Resource Guide - (great resource for LOTS of links to explore and rabbit holes to go down.)
New Economics Foundation - UK-based think tank with practical policy research
Center for Story-based Strategy - How cultural organizing builds economic change
Videos and talks:
Kate Raeworth's TED talk "A healthy economy should be designed to thrive, not grow"
Search "Scotland wellbeing economy" for government presentations
New Zealand Treasury talks on their wellbeing budget approach
Laura Flanders YouTube content - Excellent coverage of community wealth building initiatives and cooperative economics
Cooperation Hull have started a series from the Peoples Assemblies they are growing across the UK.
Academic papers: Search for "wellbeing impact assessment methodology" and "beyond GDP measurement" for the policy evaluation specifics.
The shift from decades of theory to actual government implementation documents is remarkable. You can now read the actual policy papers and see exactly how they're doing it.
This will never happen in the US.
This might be the biggest misconception about wellbeing economies. America doesn't need to catch up - it's already leading in many areas.
The numbers don't lie: America has over 65,000 cooperative businesses generating $3 trillion in revenue. Credit unions serve 130+ million Americans. Community land trusts operate in 250+ communities. The infrastructure is massive, it's just not labeled "wellbeing economy" in mainstream media. For the most part, it’s not even in mainstream media!
Recent momentum proves the speed: Commonwealth Grocers launched within months of a viral TikTok about community-owned grocery stores. Drivers Coop Colorado went from idea to operating business. Platform cooperatives are emerging to challenge Big Tech. Americans don't wait for permission - they build.
The entrepreneurial advantage: Americans excel at the "build it yourself" mentality that wellbeing economies require. While other countries might adopt these policies top-down, Americans create them bottom-up through pure innovation and necessity.
Regional success stories: Cleveland's Evergreen Cooperatives keep millions circulating locally. Burlington, Vermont pioneered community land trusts. Rural electric cooperatives serve conservative communities. This crosses all political and geographic lines.
Why it's accelerating: Americans love underdog stories, and community-owned alternatives beating mega-corps is exactly that narrative. When Drivers Coop members earn 80% instead of Uber's 50%, when credit unions offer better rates than banks, when worker cooperatives provide job security - people notice. And Red Hen app had 200 farms sign up in just one week with virtually no marketing.
The question isn't whether this will happen in America. It's how fast Americans will scale what's already working everywhere.
Isn't this just Socialism/Communism?
It's neither socialism nor traditional capitalism - it's something different that combines the best of both while avoiding the problems of each.
The key differences: Traditional capitalism concentrates ownership with shareholders and prioritizes profit extraction. Socialism concentrates ownership with the state. Community wealth building distributes ownership among workers and communities who use democratic processes to balance profit with social benefit.
It's not state control: Worker cooperatives are owned by their members, not government. Community land trusts are controlled by neighbors, not bureaucrats. Credit unions serve their members, not state directives. This is democratic ownership, not centralized control.
It's not anti-profit: Cooperatives generate profits - they just share them with workers instead of distant shareholders. B Corps prove businesses can be profitable while serving multiple stakeholders. The goal is sustainable profit that builds community wealth, not profit extraction that depletes it.
Labels create political divisions that stop progress: Rural electric cooperatives serve conservative communities. Urban housing cooperatives serve progressive ones. Both use the same cooperative principles because they work. When we get bogged down in political labels, former allies become enemies over ideology instead of working together on practical solutions.
The strategic question: Would you rather be proven right about political categories or would you rather see a better world emerge? Because right now, people across the political spectrum are building these alternatives together. The moment we make it about socialism vs capitalism, we lose half the people and progress stops.
Community wealth building works regardless of your political label because better working conditions, affordable housing, and local economic control benefit everyone.
Support this work
Building a media company to make wellbeing economies mainstream while homeless isn't easy, but your support makes it possible. If your $8 a month could help get us 5% closer to economies based on wellbeing, connection, and care within 12-18 months, would it be worth the investment?
Every story funded gets attention and momentum behind thousands of initiatives making this a reality worldwide. Your investment doesn't just change my life - it helps change the world.
Have other questions?
This FAQ will keep growing as the conversation evolves. If you have questions about wellbeing economies that aren't covered here, drop them in the comments below and I'll add them to the next update.
Every question helps us explain this transformation better and reach more people who are ready to build the economy we actually want to live in. Thank you for your support.
Excellent resource. Thanks J.
Can wellbeing economies be called forms of non-state socialism?