Economic priorities for the next Welsh Government
Our latest report, A Flourishing Wellbeing Economy for Wales, produced in partnership between the IWA and Oxfam Cymru, presents a compelling case for Wales to reorient its economy around wellbeing, care, and sustainability. It presents a clear and practical roadmap for a wellbeing economy in Wales, arguing that economic policy should be focussed on improving people’s wellbeing.
The conversation around the wellbeing economy represents a vision, and a set of principles, for a different type of economy, one which foregrounds the wellbeing of people, planet and places. Yet, the practical policies for how to support it in a Welsh context, with all the unique challenges and opportunities this brings, still appears out of reach.
This report aims to examine, and address, some of the key challenges and opportunities for Wales to create an economy which cares for people and planet, and acts as a practical manifesto of ambitious policies to lead into the Senedd 2026 elections.
We propose the following recommendations for the next Welsh Government (for more detail, please see the full report):
The conversation around the wellbeing economy represents a vision, and a set of principles, for a different type of economy, one which foregrounds the wellbeing of people, planet and places.
- A new wellbeing-aligned economic strategy with a delivery plan to set Wales’ economic direction. With implications for tax policy, industrial strategy and investment;
- Steps to unleash the power of public procurement, and create the means to pivot to prevention in order to fix the foundations;
- Tools to enable socially responsible businesses to thrive through business support, targets for growing cooperatives and social businesses, and a Community Empowerment Act;
- Managing a socially-just transition to net zero through capturing and redistributing rewards via a National Wealth Fund – pooling resources to enable Wales to invest at the scale this whole system transition demands;
- Accelerating purpose driven innovation by creating a new, independent Innovation Agency to stimulate innovation on our greatest social challenges.
You can read the full report here.
Image: Lina Trochez, Unsplash