World-renowned environmental economist, Tim Jackson, Professor at the University of Surrey, will visit the University of Latvia on March 6 with a lecture titled “Prosperity as Health – Why We Need an Economy of Care for a Liveable Future.”
The lecture will take place on Friday, March 6, at 13:00 in person at the University of Latvia Great Hall (19 Raiņa Boulevard, Riga). The visit of Professor Jackson to Riga is initiated by the Latvijas Banka, and the lecture is organized in cooperation with the University of Latvia, the UL Foundation, and the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga.
The lecture will be held within the UL Foundation lecture series “Academic Readings.” Attendance is free of charge upon registration on the UL Foundation website.
Tim Jackson is one of the leading representatives of post-growth economic thought and Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). His work is internationally recognized for its interdisciplinary, bold, and often provocative perspective on seemingly self-evident concepts such as prosperity, productivity, and economic growth.
In his publications and talks, Professor Jackson consistently returns to a fundamental question: “What does prosperity mean on a planet with finite resources?” Unlike the traditional approach that reduces prosperity to the accumulation of wealth, Jackson defines it as a balance between scarcity and excess — as care for human needs, relationships, and the ecosystems on which we depend. Like health, prosperity is a state rather than an accumulable resource, and this perspective strongly contrasts with the dominant logic of consumption and “always more.”
The professor also offers an alternative view of productivity, emphasizing the redistribution of work and the importance of creativity. He reminds us: “Work is not only a source of income, but also the primary way to participate in society.” Similarly, Jackson critically evaluates the speculative understanding of investment, stressing that “investment is a tool through which we build, protect, and maintain the assets on which tomorrow’s prosperity depends.”
In his analysis, the economist calls not only for rethinking policy instruments but also for reconsidering the very goals of the economy. He highlights the high cost of treating economic growth as an end in itself — the risks of financial, social, and environmental instability — and examines the hidden costs and social burden created by certain sectors, such as the modern food industry.
In 2009, during the global financial crisis, when leaders of the G20 met in London seeking ways to restore economic growth, Jackson — then Economics Commissioner of the UK Sustainable Development Commission — prepared a report on the transition to a sustainable economy. Although the government decided the timing was not suitable for publication, its ideas gained wide resonance and later evolved into the internationally acclaimed book Prosperity Without Growth.
In 2025, Jackson published his latest work, The Care Economy. In a personal narrative, the author invites readers to first define the meaning and substance of development (care) when evaluating economic futures — in contrast to carelessness, which he believes characterizes the current pursuit of growth in individual sectors or GDP for its own sake.
Professor Tim Jackson’s guest lecture offers a unique opportunity to engage with one of the world’s leading voices on economics, sustainability, and economic development that benefits both society and individuals. The lecture will be opened by Mārtiņš Kazāks, President of Latvijas Banka; Guntars Kitenbergs, Vice-Rector for Science at the University of Latvia; and Zaiga Pūce, Head of the UL Foundation.
