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Redefining the Human Development Index to Account for Sustainability

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  • Mona Ray

Abstract

Earlier measures of growth like Gross Domestic Product per capita, or even more recent measures like the Human Development Index (HDI), failed to consider the ‘environmental’ aspect of development. Currently, countries that have accepted the sustainability challenge are finding ways to determine if they are making progress in a sustainable way by addressing the environmental aspect of development. This paper attempts to improve the HDI by adding an ‘ecological footprint to total bio-capacity ratio’ as an indicator of environmental resource use. This new index, the Environmentally Stressed Human Development Index (ESHDI) while trying to account for sustainable development, dramatically alters the original HDI rankings of countries. Some ‘high’ and ‘medium’ income countries are enduring excessive environmental stress to sustain economic development. Copyright International Atlantic Economic Society 2014

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  • Mona Ray, 2014. "Redefining the Human Development Index to Account for Sustainability," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 42(3), pages 305-316, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:atlecj:v:42:y:2014:i:3:p:305-316
    DOI: 10.1007/s11293-014-9424-4
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    4. Doris Fuchs & Bernd Schlipphak & Oliver Treib & Le Anh Nguyen Long & Markus Lederer, 2020. "Which Way Forward in Measuring the Quality of Life? A Critical Analysis of Sustainability and Well-Being Indicator Sets," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 20(2), pages 12-36, May.
    5. Elisabete Nogueira & Sofia Gomes & João M. Lopes, 2022. "The Key to Sustainable Economic Development: A Triple Bottom Line Approach," Resources, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Hideyuki Mizobuchi, 2017. "Incorporating Sustainability Concerns in the Better Life Index: Application of Corrected Convex Non-parametric Least Squares Method," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(3), pages 947-971, April.
    7. Comim, Flavio & Hirai, Tadashi, 2022. "Sustainability and Human Development Indicators: A Poset Analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    8. Joana Costa & Diana Cancela & João Reis, 2021. "Neverland or Tomorrowland? Addressing (In)compatibility among the SDG Pillars in Europe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-18, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic growth; National income accounting methods; Sustainability; Ecological footprint; Human development index; O44; Q01; Q56;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O44 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Environment and Growth
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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