28 July – 1 August 2025
Frank Veraart (TU/e) and Annegeke Jansen (Leiden University/WISE) organized a double session with the title: “Re-assessing economic history from the perspective of well-being, inclusion, and sustainability. A global, international, and transnational lens.”
Session Description:
Environmental degradation and rising social disparities are increasingly undermining global peace, food security, and the stability of democracies. There is a growing call to shift our focus from the pursuit of economic growth to advocating for a development paradigm that prioritizes sustainable and inclusive well-being. As we find ourselves at a pivotal juncture, it is imperative to consider economic history through a lens that transcends economic indicators alone. This session zooms in on the historical development of well-being, inclusion, and sustainability during the past two centuries, using a global, international, and transnational lens. We will explore a variety of methodologies, from those that emphasize historical GDP estimates to more holistic approaches integrating traditional economic metrics with broader social indicators, as well as pioneering efforts that entirely bypass economic indicators in favor of alternative measures.
In this session, Frank Veraart and Dulce van Vliet presented the ongoing research of the STONEM project. Dutch imports of raw materials and goods have had profound consequences for economic, social, and ecological developments elsewhere on the planet. These trade-offs have historical origins as from the nineteenth century onwards, scientific knowledge, colonial developments and industrial modernization contributed to the development of transnational production chains. These processes also lead to regional shifts in resourcing and production regions affecting local well-being. This paper discussed these bilateral entangled histories.
Link to conference website: https://wehc2025.com/