SOCIAL IMPACTS
Evidence of the impact of trade on people’s wellbeing is sparse and mixed. This makes it difficult to understand the full impact of trade: is it a force for good, or a driver of poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation? How does changing use of land affect wildlife, and the benefits nature provides to people? And what are the alternatives?
What will we do?
In this project we will assess a range of the social impacts of trade through a number of steps.
Tracking wellbeing
First, we will assess welfare, wellbeing and health across communities. By drawing on a whole range of data, including household surveys, we will investigate the communities and countries producing these commonly traded goods.
Creating measurements for wellbeing
We will use this information to create different indicators of how trade affects wellbeing. When combined with the results of ‘value chain analysis’ and our investigation into the political and economic processes that shape trade, this will be able to show the full distribution of benefits and harms, and what might be able to ease trade-driven poverty and inequality.
Mapping impacts on wellbeing
Finally, we will map and quantify how changing use of land for agricultural production affects both nature and the people that rely upon it. All together this will allow us to see how economic growth, nature, and wellbeing interact.
