Wellbeing, Values and Lifestyles: Towards a New Development Paradigm

This open access book with contributions by leading global experts from diverse specialization defines a new development paradigm built on Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE).  The volume outlines the contours of LiFE across five facets namely ethics and value system; sustainable consumption and production; modalities of systemic transformation; financing for resilient infrastructure, cities and societies; and wellbeing measurement going beyond GDP. The book prepared as part of the Think 20 (T20) India Task Force 3 on “LiFE, Resilience and Values for Wellbeing” presents deep insights on socio-economic transformation and ecological balance from a multi-disciplinary perspective. It highlights the importance of normative frameworks in economic thinking, equitable access to finance and technology, role of social enterprises, and imperatives for measuring wellbeing. The book is a must-have resource for political leadership, legislators, policy makers, diplomats, and international organizations in addition to the academic community.

Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi is Director General at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), a New Delhi-based think tank. He works on issues related to development economics, involving development finance, SDGs and South-South cooperation, apart from trade, investment and innovation linkages with special focus on WTO.  Currently he is also Member, Board of Governors, Reserve Bank of India. He was Global Justice Fellow at the MacMillan Center for International Affairs at Yale University; Developing Country Fellow at the University of Amsterdam; Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla; and Visiting Scholar at the German Development Institute (IDOS).  He has served as a Visiting Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and has been closely associated with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, World Bank, UN-ESCAP, UNESCO, OECD and many other agencies. He was the lead Co-Chair of Think 20 India Task Force 3 on LiFE, Resilience and Values for Wellbeing and is Member of the International Advisory Council of Think 20 Brazil.

K. Seeta Prabhu is currently Visiting Professor at the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi. She is an expert of the human development approach and spearheaded the preparation of Human Development Reports across 26 Indian States as Head of Human Development Resource Centre, UNDP, India. The positions she occupied include Tata Chair Professor and Director, Prime Minister's Rural Development Fellows programme at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and Professor of Development Economics, University of Mumbai. She was a Co-Chair of Think 20 India Task Force 3 on LiFE, Resilience and Values for Wellbeing.

Dr. Sabyasachi Saha is Associate Professor at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), a New Delhi-based autonomous policy research organization and think tank. Dr Saha is an economist specializing in technology, international trade and sustainable development and has over 15 years of professional experience. He was a Co-Chair of Think 20 India Task Force 3 on LiFE, Resilience and Values for Wellbeing and is currently a Co-Chair of Think 20 Brazil Task Force 6 on Strengthening Multilateralism and Global Governance.