Sustainable development is one of the most urgent challenges facing humanity. Its basic principle is to improve people’s well-being and maintain it over time. In 2015, the United Nations approved 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to ensure a better and sustainable future for all, balancing economic, social and environmental development. SDGs create an ‘indivisible whole’; thus, examining their interactions is crucial. Our...

Current approaches and cultures for the economic evaluations of environmental and health policies may suffer from excessive reliance on a standard neoclassic economic toolbox that neglects alternative perspectives. This may prematurely limit the spectrum of available policy options. Here we show how the inclusion of neglected currents of thought such as non-Ricardian economics, bioeconomics and a set of qualitative-quantitative...

The present work looks at what we call “the multiverse of quantification”, where visible and invisible numbers permeate all aspects and venues of life. We review the contributions of different authors who focus on the roles of quantification in society, with the aim of capturing different and sometimes separate voices. Several scholars, including economists, jurists, philosophers, sociologists, communication and data scientists,...