Oikonomics, the UOC’s magazine of economics, business and society, organized a presentation event on 19 June 2024, of which we attach a video, of a very special edition such as that of its tenth anniversary. For this reason, the publication devotes a monograph to the analysis of well-being from a holistic view. A vision that, on the one hand, addresses the analysis of the current challenges posed by the welfare society, understood as a system by which the public administration guarantees citizens a set of basic social services, mainly in health, education, pensions, unemployment, housing... to improve their living conditions and promote equal opportunities for personal fulfillment. And, on the other hand, it also incorporates elements of reflection regarding personal well-being with approximations to the study of human strengths and happiness.

This monograph from Oikonomics, therefore, shows well-being as a broad concept to examine how personal sovereignty, collective well-being, welfare state, public education, health, pension system sustainability and tax awareness interact to shape citizenship quality of life. This act organized in the College of Economists addresses this analysis from three areas: personal sovereignty, the role played by the public sector in the construction of the welfare society and the sustainability of finances that allow it to be financed. Issues that raise deep questions and future challenges to identify and correct possible adjustments that need to be made to have a fair and efficient welfare state.

Moderated by the coordinator of the monograph, the professor of the Economic and Business Studies of the UOC, Fernando Alvarez, these issues are addressed by three authors of the articles that make up this special edition of Oikonomics: the professor of Economics of the Universitat de Barcelona, Alejandro Esteller; the collaborating professor of the Economic and Business Studies of the UOC, Gemma Segura and the collaborating profesor of the UOC, Laura López. To commemorate Oikonomics’ birthday, the UOC’s director, Àngels Fitó; the vice-rector, Mª Jesús Martínez, the head of the Economic and Business Studies, Xavier Baraza, and the head of Oikonomics, Joan Miquel Gomis, also participated in this presentation.

Individuals, as selfish beings, have incentives not to voluntarily comply with the payment of taxes. This low predisposition differs between countries or, within a country, between individuals. Given the social costs of tax non-compliance, finding mechanisms that can improve this predisposition, that is, without the need for coercive mechanisms, improve “tax morale” is a key aspect for the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of our system. fiscal. In this article, these issues are discussed and various mechanisms are proposed to promote tax morale, the level of which is not necessarily well reflected in the surveys that are usually carried out on this topic.

Women have been invisible in medicine because they have been absent from the subject of biomedical research until the 20th century. Until the last decade of the 20th century, women’s health had been studied and evaluated only in relation to reproductive health and pregnancy and childbirth. It was not until the 1990s that women began to be included in some scientific studies, but without considering the living and working conditions and the key psychosocial burden on health. It is important to emphasize that women are bioaccumulators of toxic substances that affect their health, that of their children and that of their grandchildren.

In the constant search for a fuller and more satisfying life, human beings have discovered that one of the most effective ways is through community life. Community life is much more than simply inhabiting the same physical space. It involves a shared commitment to collective well-being, where each individual finds not only emotional support but also opportunities to grow and develop fully. In this article, we will explore how social interaction, collaboration and the sense of belonging to a group can significantly influence our quality of life and general happiness, focusing our attention on a particular model: cohousing.

Based on the contributions of positive psychology, the author considers that personal welfare comes from the result of mixing the responsible cultivation of our own thinking and emotional world, the relations that we maintain with other people and the meaning we endow our own life.

The article delivers the comprehension of all those scopes and how they contribute to the global result of personal welfare, under the premises that the responsibility of the above-mentioned welfare comes from a personal decision, and it belongs to each human being to come up with the importance of it in your own life.

Although Public Finance, understood as an organization of the financial activity of the public sector, in its double aspect of income and expenditure, can be considered as old as the first organized states, it was initially oriented towards the development and financing of activities related to external security, internal order, the justice system and expenses related to the maintenance of the head of state.

It was necessary to wait until the end of the 19th century, and more precisely until the period between the two world wars (mainly at the end of the latter) for the Welfare State to appear, as we know it in our days. State intervention has been especially relevant in: pensions and public transfers, public services in health, education and other social issues, protection standards for workers, consumers and citizens in general, and policies aimed at encouraging the creation and access to employment, both public and private.

However, the evolution of the public sector necessary to maintain the Welfare State has shown a very marked tendency towards growth, which has not been accompanied by the quantitative and qualitative improvement of the public goods and services offered. Over the last decades, the study of these issues has made it possible to identify a series of variables, typical of the functioning of the democratic system and the bureaucracy itself, that explain its inefficient growth, and that should be identified and corrected to obtain a fair and efficient Welfare State.

This document analyzes the sustainability of the pension system in Spain within the framework of the welfare state. It highlights that pensions are fundamental for providing economic security and reducing poverty among the retired population. However, it warns about the lack of resources to meet long-term pension obligations, with an aging population and other demographic factors as the main challenges.

This paper underlines that the financial strains of the Spanish pension system are evident, with a constant increase in retired people and pension expenditure over time, while affiliations to Social Security have a more volatile behavior.

The document manifests the direct relationship between demographic changes, such as an aging population, low fertility rate and the precariousness of the pension system. It points out that demographic projections indicate a higher proportion of dependent people compared to active contributors, questioning the system’s ability to maintain adequate benefits.

To address these challenges, the paper proposes rethinking the welfare state and adopting sustainable public policies that promote an equitable distribution of resources and emphasizes the importance of increasing the retirement age, extending working life and linking pensions to life expectancy.

TIn the Spanish education system, as in those of many other countries, students are divided into two types: those who attend a state school and those who attend a private one (whether state-funded or not). Private schools are mainly attended by the children of the better-off. This article explains how this system generates and preserves inequality. We will study the possibility of substituting this model with a completely public one and will discuss other alternatives: tax modifications, school vouchers and the introduction of positive discrimination policies to compensate for the disadvantaged position of those who attended state schools and universities, namely the provision of a number of employment positions both in the private and the public sectors.

This article critically examines the adequacy of the gross domestic product (GDP) as the sole indicator of economic and social well-being, proposing the need to integrate more holistic approaches in development assessment. It is argued that while GDP reflects the economic capacity of a nation, it fails to address fundamental aspects such as environmental impacts, human rights and cultural variables. The adoption of gross national happiness (GNH) by countries like Bhutan and Myanmar is mentioned as a pioneering approach that evaluates the quality of life from holistic and psychological perspectives, significantly distinguishing itself from the traditional GDP. Furthermore, the human development index (HDI) is discussed as a more inclusive indicator, encompassing dimensions such as life expectancy, education and income level, thereby providing a more comprehensive metric for human progress. This approach stands in contrast to the limitations of GDP by offering a more complete picture of human development. Consequently, the article advocates for a new economic paradigm that transcends the traditional focus on GDP and seeks a more thorough and sustainable understanding of human well-being, adapting to the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

Oikonomics magazine edited by the UOC Economics and Business Studies celebrates its 10 years. For this reason, an infographic is published in this edition that includes the highlights of the magazine’s impact and visibility during this period, as well as information on its articles’ thematic orientation.