Seminar: "Economic growth dependencies and imperatives: A review of key theories and their conflicts", by Lorenz Keyßer

The REAL-Postgrowth project (Post-growth – REAL – A Post-Growth Deal) is excited to announce that Lorenz Keyßer, from University of Lausanne, will present a public talk as part of our monthly public seminar series.

Seminar: "Economic growth dependencies and imperatives: A review of key theories and their conflicts"

Speaker:  Lorenz Keyßer, University of Lausanneç

Facilitator: Joel Millward-Hopkins

• Date: Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025
• Time:  15 -16h (CET)
• Venue: Online ONLY - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88547266318?pwd=Zc1UGBL8baTWlHVY59fMptfM5S9dQH.1

Much evidence indicates that sustainability cannot be achieved without overcoming the economic growth paradigm. However, current societies are locked into the pursuit of economic growth, as lack of growth is experienced as socially harmful economic and social crises. This conundrum is conceptualised as current societies being subject to ‘growth dependencies and imperatives’ (GDI) which make social wellbeing dependent on economic growth. However, substantial debate exists on the questions of which mechanisms in fact cause GDI and as a consequence, what needs to be changed in order to overcome them. Addressing these questions, the seminar will present the results of the first systematic literature review on GDI theories, recently published in the journal Ecological Economics. See article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108745

Lorenz Keyßer is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Geography and Sustainability, University of Lausanne. He holds bachelor’s and master’s diplomas in Environmental Sciences from ETH Zurich, with a focus on environmental systems and policy. Supervised by Prof. Julia Steinberger, he conducts research on economic growth imperatives and dependencies in the context of degrowth and post-growth theories. He is also a member of the association Degrowth Switzerland.