← Wiki

Concept

Doughnut economics

A framework developed by Oxford economist Kate Raworth for organizing economic activity within two boundaries: the social foundation (below which human deprivation occurs) and the ecological ceiling (above which planetary systems are destabilized). The space between the two — visualized as a doughnut — is the safe and just space for humanity. Articulated in Raworth's 2017 book Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. The framework has been adopted by Amsterdam (2020), Copenhagen, Brussels, and many other cities and regions as a planning tool.

The doughnut

The framework visualizes a doughnut shape with two boundaries:

The social foundation (inner ring) — minimum thresholds for:

  • Food, water, energy, housing, health, education, income, social equity, gender equality, political voice, peace, networks, jobs

Below this ring is the hole of [[sufficiency|the doughnut]] — human deprivation. The goal is to keep no one in the hole.

The ecological ceiling (outer ring) — [[sufficiency|planetary boundaries]] (drawing on Rockström et al. 2009):

  • Climate change, biodiversity loss, land conversion, freshwater use, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, [[ocean-acidification|ocean acidification]], ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosols, chemical pollution

Outside this ring is overshoot — planetary destabilization. The goal is to keep human activity inside.

[[sufficiency|The doughnut]] itself — the space between social foundation and ecological ceiling — is the safe and just operating space for humanity.

Seven ways to think differently

Raworth’s seven principles for 21st-century economics:

  1. Change the goal — from GDP growth to thriving in [[sufficiency|the doughnut]]
  2. See the big picture — embed the economy in society and earth
  3. Nurture human nature — reciprocal, not just self-interested
  4. Get savvy with systems — dynamic [[complexity|complex systems]], not equilibrium
  5. Design to distribute — distributive by design, not redistributive after
  6. Create to regenerate — regenerative by design, not “less bad”
  7. Be agnostic about growth — neither pro- nor anti-; growth is a means, not the goal

Adoption

  • Amsterdam (2020) — first city to formally adopt doughnut economics as planning framework
  • Copenhagen, Brussels, [[portland-or|Portland]] (OR), Nanaimo (BC), Costa Rica — various levels of adoption
  • Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL) — Raworth’s organization supporting cities, regions, and businesses adopting the framework

See also

Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.

  • Shares approach with: [[regenerative-finance]]
  • Pioneer of: [[kate-raworth]]

Sources

  • Doughnut Economics, [[kate-raworth|Kate Raworth]] (Random House, 2017)
  • Doughnut Economics Action Lab (doughnuteconomics.org)
  • Raworth published academic papers

Rooted in life.

What links here, and how

Inbound connections from across the wiki, grouped by lens and by relationship. These appear automatically — every entity page declares what it links to, and that data populates here on the targets.

Cultural

shares approach with

  • Degrowth degrowth and doughnut economics overlap substantially; both articulate alternatives to growth-based economic frameworks

pioneer of

  • Kate Raworth developed and articulated the framework over a decade of work; founded DEAL to support adoption

2 inbound links · 2 outbound