Brain health is essential for smooth economic transitions: towards socio-economic sustainability, productivity and well-being

• Published in: Brain communications 2024-10, Vol.6 (6), p.fcae360
• Main Authors: Nail-Beatty, Olivia, Ibanez, Agustin, Ayadi, Rym, Swieboda, Pawel, Njamnshi, Alfred K, Occhipinti, Jo-An, Hynes, William, Ikiz, Burcin, Castro-Aldrete, Laura, O’Brien, Kelly, Platt, Michael L, Adalat, Shazia, Abdullah, Jafri Malin, Dhamija, Rajinder K, Merali, Zul, Mostert, Cyprian, Beck, Debbie, Saxena, Shekhar, Salama, Mohamed, Abdelraheem, Omnia M, Destrebecq, Frederic, Slavich, George M, Shehu, Bello, Fieggen, Graham, Ghogomu, Paul M, Bassetti, Claudio L A, Eyre, Harris A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Field Potential
• ISSN: 2632-1297; 2632-1297
• DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae360

Abstract Optimal brain health is essential to smoothing major global skill-intensive economic transitions, such as the bioeconomy, green, care economy and digital transitions. Good brain health is vital to socio-economic sustainability, productivity and well-being. The care transition focuses on recognizing and investing in care services and care work as essential for economic growth and social well-being. The green transition involves shifting towards environmentally sustainable and fairer societies to combat climate change and environmental degradation. The digital transition aims to unlock digital growth potential and deploy innovative solutions for businesses and citizens, and to improve the accessibility and efficiency of services. The bioeconomy transition refers to the shift towards an economy based on products, services and processes derived from biological resources, such as plants and microorganisms. Brain capital, which encompasses brain health and brain skills, is a critical economic asset for the success of economies of the future. The brain economy transition from a brain-negative (brain-unhealthy) economy, which depletes brain capital, to a brain-positive (brain-healthy) economy, which arrests and reverses the loss of brain capital, will be foundational to these major transitions. Increased brain capital is vital to educational attainment, upskilling and reskilling. In this paper, we provide a detailed roadmap for the brain economy transition. Nail-Beatty et al. report that optimal brain health is essential to smoothing major skill-intensive economic transitions, such as the bioeconomy, green, care economy and digital transitions. Good brain health is vital to socio-economic sustainability, productivity and well-being. They provide a detailed roadmap for the brain-positive economy transition. Graphical Abstract Graphical Abstract Video Abstract 10.1093/ehjcr/fcae360_video1 Video Abstract fcae360media1 6363988151112