IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jecomi/v12y2024i12p338-d1540024.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reimagining Sustainable Development and Economic Performance Indicators: A Human-Centric Maslow–Bossel Blueprint

Author

Listed:
  • Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos

    (Department of Regional and Economic Development, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), 33100 Amfissa, Greece
    School of Health and Sports Sciences, New York College in Collaboration with the University of Bolton, 10558 Athens, Greece)

  • Ioannis Vardopoulos

    (Foundation for Mediterranean Studies—MeDiterrate, 15452 Psychiko, Greece
    Department of Agricultural Development, Agri-Food and Natural Resources Management, School of Agricultural Development, Nutrition and Sustainability, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (UoA), 34400 Psachna, Greece
    Laboratory of Chemical Engineering and Engineering Sustainability, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Open University of Cyprus (OUC), Nicosia 2231, Cyprus)

  • Marco Maialetti

    (Independent Researcher, 00195 Rome, Italy)

  • Clio Ciaschini

    (Department of Economic and Social Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60121 Ancona, Italy)

  • Phoebe Koundouri

    (Sustainable Development Unit, Athena Research Center, 15125 Athens, Greece
    School of Economics and ReSEES Research Laboratory, Athens University of Economics and Business, 10434 Athens, Greece
    Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Denmark Technical University (DTU), 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark)

  • Luca Salvati

    (Department of Methods and Models for Economics, Territory and Finance (MEMOTEF), Faculty of Economics, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

Reflecting the shift from purely quantitative economic growth to broader socio-environmental sustainability, this study proposes a framework for assessing sustainable development (SD) by integrating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs with Bossel’s classification system. As economic development increasingly emphasizes sustainability, numerous organizations and agencies, including the United Nations, have developed indicators to measure sustainable progress. However, subjective dimensions of SD, grounded in individual values and needs, remain underexplored. This study operationalizes Maslow’s “pyramid of needs” alongside Bossel’s system to establish an “SD pyramid”, distinguishing dimensions and indicators that capture social, economic, and environmental complexity. By mapping human needs onto the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this study contributes to delineating (i) the research areas uncovered (or partly covered) with relevant indicators, (ii) a significant lack or partial shortage of pertinent information, and (iii) a combination of a few basic indicators summarizing the necessary information into a unique measure of SD. The outcomes offer a foundation for a quali-quantitative assessment of SD, enhancing the monitoring tools focusing on subjective and contextual needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos & Ioannis Vardopoulos & Marco Maialetti & Clio Ciaschini & Phoebe Koundouri & Luca Salvati, 2024. "Reimagining Sustainable Development and Economic Performance Indicators: A Human-Centric Maslow–Bossel Blueprint," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-29, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:12:y:2024:i:12:p:338-:d:1540024
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/12/338/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/12/338/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yongjie Xue & Jinling Yan & Dahai Li & Haijing Zheng, 2023. "Integrated Ocean Management (IOM) for Marine Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)14: A Case Study of China’s Bohai Sea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-24, March.
    2. Stella Tsani & Phoebe Koundouri & Ebun Akinsete, 2020. "Resource management and sustainable development: A review of the European water policies in accordance with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals," DEOS Working Papers 2036, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    3. Victoria Wibeck & Björn-Ola Linnér & Melisa Alves & Therese Asplund & Anna Bohman & Maxwell T. Boykoff & Pamela M. Feetham & Yi Huang & Januario Nascimento & Jessica Rich & Charles Yvon Rocha & Franco, 2019. "Stories of Transformation: A Cross-Country Focus Group Study on Sustainable Development and Societal Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-19, April.
    4. James Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Jeffrey Smith & Petra Todd, 1998. "Characterizing Selection Bias Using Experimental Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 66(5), pages 1017-1098, September.
    5. Beata Bieszk-Stolorz & Krzysztof Dmytrów, 2023. "Decent Work and Economic Growth in EU Countries—Static and Dynamic Analyses of Sustainable Development Goal 8," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-18, September.
    6. Elena Bulmer & Benito Yáñez-Araque, 2023. "Tackling Climate Change through Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships: Promoting SDG 17 to Combat Climate Change," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-16, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James J. Heckman, 1991. "Randomization and Social Policy Evaluation Revisited," NBER Technical Working Papers 0107, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C. & Zhao, Jun, 2020. "Doubly robust difference-in-differences estimators," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 219(1), pages 101-122.
    3. Michael Lechner & Ruth Miquel & Conny Wunsch, 2011. "Long‐Run Effects Of Public Sector Sponsored Training In West Germany," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 742-784, August.
    4. Michael Gerfin & Michael Lechner, 2002. "A Microeconometric Evaluation of the Active Labour Market Policy in Switzerland," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(482), pages 854-893, October.
    5. Domadenik, Polona & Far?nik, Daša & Pastore, Francesco, 2013. "Horizontal Mismatch in the Labour Market of Graduates: The Role of Signalling," IZA Discussion Papers 7527, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Shigeno, Hidenori & Matsuzaki, Taisuke & Ueki, Yasushi & Tsuji, Masatsugu, 2023. "The Effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Innovation Process of Small and Medium-sized Regional Firms," 32nd European Regional ITS Conference, Madrid 2023: Realising the digital decade in the European Union – Easier said than done? 278018, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    7. Kube, Roland & von Graevenitz, Kathrine & Löschel, Andreas & Massier, Philipp, 2019. "Do voluntary environmental programs reduce emissions? EMAS in the German manufacturing sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(S1).
    8. Victor Chernozhukov & Iván Fernández‐Val & Blaise Melly, 2013. "Inference on Counterfactual Distributions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 81(6), pages 2205-2268, November.
    9. Barbara Sianesi, 2002. "Swedish active labour market programmes in the 1990s: overall effectiveness and differential performance," IFS Working Papers W02/03, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    10. Iacus, Stefano M. & Porro, Giuseppe, 2007. "Missing data imputation, matching and other applications of random recursive partitioning," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 773-789, October.
    11. Richard Blundell & Mike Brewer & Marco Francesconi, 2008. "Job Changes and Hours Changes: Understanding the Path of Labor Supply Adjustment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(3), pages 421-453, July.
    12. Sascha O. Becker & Marco Caliendo, 2007. "Sensitivity analysis for average treatment effects," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 7(1), pages 71-83, February.
    13. Islam, Asadul & Nguyen, Chau & Smyth, Russell, 2015. "Does microfinance change informal lending in village economies? Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 141-156.
    14. Löschel, Andreas & Lutz, Benjamin Johannes & Managi, Shunsuke, 2019. "The impacts of the EU ETS on efficiency and economic performance – An empirical analyses for German manufacturing firms," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 71-95.
    15. Heckman, James, 2001. "Accounting for Heterogeneity, Diversity and General Equilibrium in Evaluating Social Programmes," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(475), pages 654-699, November.
    16. Yechan Park & Yuya Sasaki, 2024. "Matching $\leq$ Hybrid $\leq$ Difference in Differences," Papers 2411.07952, arXiv.org.
    17. K. Sudhir & Debabrata Talukdar, 2015. "The "Peter Pan Syndrome" in Emerging Markets: The Productivity-Transparency Tradeoff in IT Adoption," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1980, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    18. Roland Rathelot & Patrick Sillard, 2008. "Zones Franches Urbaines : quels effets sur l'emploi salarié et les créations d'établissements ?," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 415(1), pages 81-96.
    19. Ralitza Dimova & Fran�ois-Charles Wolff, 2015. "Remittances and Chain Migration: Longitudinal Evidence from Bosnia and Herzegovina," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(5), pages 554-568, May.
    20. Frölich, Markus & Michaelowa, Katharina, 2004. "Peer effects and textbooks in primary education: Evidence from francophone sub-Saharan Africa," HWWA Discussion Papers 311, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:12:y:2024:i:12:p:338-:d:1540024. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.