Jason Edward Hickel

Jason Edward Hickel is a Research Professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB) at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where he is affiliated with the Department of Political Science and Public Law as an ICREA Research staff member. His work focuses on ecological economics, degrowth theory, and global inequality.

Dr. Hickel's research interests span multiple interconnected fields of critical importance to understanding sustainable development in the 21st century. His primary areas of focus include:

• Degrowth economics and post-growth theory
• Planetary boundaries and ecological limits
• Global inequality and the Global South
• Resource use and climate change mitigation
• Political economy of development
• South Africa studies

His recent publications demonstrate a strong emphasis on analyzing the relationship between economic systems and ecological constraints. Hickel's work increasingly focuses on developing frameworks for sustainable wellbeing within planetary boundaries, examining inequality in resource distribution, and proposing policy alternatives to conventional growth-oriented approaches. His research often bridges disciplinary boundaries, connecting economics, environmental science, and political theory, with significant attention to empirical analysis of energy and material flows.

Dr. Hickel leads or participates in several significant research projects funded by prestigious organizations:

• PostGroWellBeing: Pathways to Sustainable Wellbeing (MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship)
• EPOG-DN: Economic Policies for the Global bifurcation (MSCA Doctoral Network)
• REAL: A Post Growth Deal (ERC Synergy Grant)
• ToBe: Towards a sustainable wellbeing economy (International research project)

His work has been cited 4,370 times with an h-index of 28, indicating substantial scholarly impact. He has published 59 research outputs including articles, books, and book chapters, with increasing productivity over recent years (15 publications in 2023, 6 in 2024, and 7 projected for 2025).