How to increase well-being in a context of degrowth

•Degrowth define well-being as a multidimensional concept.•Well-being is related to human-needs and capitals availability.•Capitals availability is determined by market and reciprocity work.•Reciprocity work is based on voluntary work and self-production.•A combination of market and reciprocity work maximizes the level of well-being.

In this paper, a model of well-being, based on the concepts of sphere of needs and capitals, is proposed and used to investigate the effects of degrowth. Reciprocity work, considered here as an element of degrowth, is introduced into the well-being equation and the effects generated on well-being are investigated. A preliminary analysis demonstrates the lack of formal models of degrowth. This is due to, on one hand, an a priori ideological rejection by degrowth supporters and promoters of any formal framing; on the other to the fact that existing approaches fail, for different reasons, to comprehensively represent the definition of degrowth. The framework adopted is valid and viable and a good starting point for future research and developments. The idea of a formal representation of degrowth so that it could be made a concrete research subjects, is strongly supported.