IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v120y2015i1p29-65.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Analysis of the Sustainable Society Index Worldwide: A Study from the Biplot Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Isabel Gallego-Álvarez
  • Mª Galindo-Villardón
  • Miguel Rodríguez-Rosa

Abstract

Since the Brundtland Report defined the concept of sustainability in 1987, several different indices and indicators have been developed in this area, which is becoming an ever greater concern in society, since it will affect future generations. The main objective of this research study is to analyze whether there are differences in the scores obtained by a broad sample of countries in the Sustainable Society Index according to the geographical area in which the country is located. We apply the HJ-biplot method (Galindo in Questíio 10(1):13–23, 1986 ), a statistical technique that provides a joint graphical representation in a low dimensional Euclidean space (usually a plane), of a multivariate data matrix; in our study, this is formed by the countries grouped by geographical areas and variables relating to sets of economic, social and environmental indicators included in the Sustainable Society Index. Our findings stress that the variables related to Human Wellbeing fall mainly within the proximity of the countries located in the geographical areas of Europe, America and, to a lesser extent, Asia. In contrast, other variables associated with Environmental Wellbeing, such as greenhouse gases, renewable energy, and air quality are mainly located closer to Africa, and more residually to Asia. In order to represent the most relevant variables in each geographical area and corroborate the results obtained using the HJ-biplot methodology, an analysis was carried out of the radial graph that represents the values of each variable along the independent axes in the form of radii that have their starting point in the centre of the plot and end in the outer ring such that each radius corresponds to a variable. The results obtained show the characteristics of each geographical area in relation to the Sustainable Society Index, and confirm the results obtained with the HJ-biplot. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Isabel Gallego-Álvarez & Mª Galindo-Villardón & Miguel Rodríguez-Rosa, 2015. "Analysis of the Sustainable Society Index Worldwide: A Study from the Biplot Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 120(1), pages 29-65, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:120:y:2015:i:1:p:29-65
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-014-0579-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11205-014-0579-9
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-014-0579-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. P Ekins, 1997. "The Kuznets Curve for the Environment and Economic Growth: Examining the Evidence," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 29(5), pages 805-830, May.
    2. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    3. Rabah Arezki & Frederick van der Ploeg, 2007. "Can the Natural Resource Curse Be Turned into a Blessing? The Role of Trade Policies and Institutions," Economics Working Papers ECO2007/35, European University Institute.
    4. Cole, M.A. & Rayner, A.J. & Bates, J.M., 1997. "The environmental Kuznets curve: an empirical analysis," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(4), pages 401-416, November.
    5. Scruggs, Lyle, 2001. "Is There Really a Link Between Neo-Corporatism and Environmental Performance? Updated Evidence and New Data for the 1980s and 1990s," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(4), pages 686-692, October.
    6. Van de Kerk, Geurt & Manuel, Arthur R., 2008. "A comprehensive index for a sustainable society: The SSI -- the Sustainable Society Index," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 228-242, June.
    7. Maria Cracolici & Miranda Cuffaro & Peter Nijkamp, 2010. "The Measurement of Economic, Social and Environmental Performance of Countries: A Novel Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 339-356, January.
    8. Neumayer, Eric, 2003. "Are left-wing party strength and corporatism good for the environment? Evidence from panel analysis of air pollution in OECD countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 203-220, June.
    9. Scruggs, Lyle A., 1999. "Institutions and Environmental Performance in Seventeen Western Democracies," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 29(1), pages 1-31, January.
    10. Julius Kotir, 2011. "Climate change and variability in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of current and future trends and impacts on agriculture and food security," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 587-605, June.
    11. Hansen, J. W., 1996. "Is agricultural sustainability a useful concept?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 117-143.
    12. Baumgärtner, Stefan & Quaas, Martin, 2010. "What is sustainability economics?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 445-450, January.
    13. Aerni, Philipp, 2009. "What is sustainable agriculture? Empirical evidence of diverging views in Switzerland and New Zealand," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1872-1882, April.
    14. Giles, David E.A. & Feng, Hui, 2005. "Output and well-being in industrialized nations in the second half of the 20th century: testing for convergence using fuzzy clustering analysis," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 285-308, June.
    15. Basille, Mathieu & Calenge, Clément & Marboutin, Éric & Andersen, Reidar & Gaillard, Jean-Michel, 2008. "Assessing habitat selection using multivariate statistics: Some refinements of the ecological-niche factor analysis," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 211(1), pages 233-240.
    16. Heinz Schandl & Marina Fischer-Kowalski & Clemens Grunbuhel & Fridolin Krausmann, 2008. "Socio-metabolic Transitions in Developing Asia," Socio-Economics and the Environment in Discussion (SEED) Working Paper Series 2008-05, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Carmen C. Rodríguez-Martínez & Isabel María García-Sánchez & Purificación Vicente-Galindo & Purificación Galindo-Villardón, 2019. "Exploring Relationships between Environmental Performance, E-Government and Corruption: A Multivariate Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Simona-Roxana Ulman & Costica Mihai & Cristina Cautisanu, 2020. "Peculiarities of the Relation between Human and Environmental Wellbeing in Different Stages of National Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-26, October.
    3. José Fernando Romero Cañizares & Purificación Vicente Galindo & Yannis Phillis & Evangelos Grigoroudis, 2022. "Graphical sustainability analysis using disjoint biplots," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 1575-1596, April.
    4. Yang Ding & Yelin Fu & Kin Keung Lai & W. K. John Leung, 2018. "Using Ranked Weights and Acceptability Analysis to Construct Composite Indicators: A Case Study of Regional Sustainable Society Index," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 871-885, October.

    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. Miguel Rodríguez-Rosa & Isabel Gallego-Álvarez & Mª Purificación Vicente-Galindo & Mª Purificación Galindo-Villardón, 2017. "Are Social, Economic and Environmental Well-Being Equally Important in all Countries Around the World? A Study by Income Levels," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 543-565, March.
    2. Isabel Gallego-Alvarez & Mª Purificación Vicente-Galindo & Mª Purificación Galindo-Villardón & Miguel Rodríguez-Rosa, 2014. "Environmental Performance in Countries Worldwide: Determinant Factors and Multivariate Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-26, November.
    3. Gallego-Álvarez, Isabel & García-Rubio, Raquel & Martínez-Ferrero, Jennifer, 2018. "Environmental performance concerns in Latin America: Determinant factors and multivariate analysis," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 206-221.
    4. V. Carlei & E. Colantonio & D. Furia & N. Mattoscio, 2011. "Economic patterns of sustainable development: an analysis of absolute ecological footprint through self-organizing map," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 157-171, January.
    5. Bernauer, Thomas & Koubi, Vally, 2009. "Effects of political institutions on air quality," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 1355-1365, March.
    6. Matthew A. Cole & Andrea Lucchesi, 2014. "Economic growth and the environment," Chapters, in: Giles Atkinson & Simon Dietz & Eric Neumayer & Matthew Agarwala (ed.), Handbook of Sustainable Development, chapter 16, pages 252-266, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Milica Maricic & Marija Jankovic & Veljko Jeremic, 2014. "Towards a Framework for Evaluating Sustainable Society Index," Romanian Statistical Review, Romanian Statistical Review, vol. 62(3), pages 49-62, September.
    8. Jie He, 2007. "Is the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis valid for developing countries? A survey," Cahiers de recherche 07-03, Departement d'économique de l'École de gestion à l'Université de Sherbrooke.
    9. Vecchione, Gaetano, 2010. "EU rural policy: proposal and application of an agricultural sustainability index," MPRA Paper 27032, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Cornelis Leeuwen & Jos Frijns & Annemarie Wezel & Frans Ven, 2012. "City Blueprints: 24 Indicators to Assess the Sustainability of the Urban Water Cycle," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(8), pages 2177-2197, June.
    11. F. Füsun Tatlıdil & İsmet Boz & Hasan Tatlidil, 2009. "Farmers’ perception of sustainable agriculture and its determinants: a case study in Kahramanmaras province of Turkey," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 11(6), pages 1091-1106, December.
    12. Daniel Fiorino, 2011. "Explaining national environmental performance: approaches, evidence, and implications," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 44(4), pages 367-389, November.
    13. Agnieszka Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska & Anna Kłoczko-Gajewska & Piotr Sulewski, 2019. "Between the Social and Economic Dimensions of Sustainability in Rural Areas—In Search of Farmers’ Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-26, December.
    14. Nikos Chatzistamoulou & Phoebe Koundouri, 2020. "The Economics of Sustainable Development," DEOS Working Papers 2005, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    15. Svjetlana Janković Šoja & Ana Anokić & Dana Bucalo Jelić & Radojka Maletić, 2016. "Ranking EU Countries According to Their Level of Success in Achieving the Objectives of the Sustainable Development Strategy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-10, March.
    16. Luzzati, T. & Orsini, M., 2009. "Investigating the energy-environmental Kuznets curve," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 291-300.
    17. Indra de Soysa & Jennifer Bailey & Eric Neumayer, 2004. "Free to Squander? Democracy, Institutional Design, and Economic Sustainability, 1975–2000," Macroeconomics 0412004, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Carley, Sanya & Desai, Sameeksha & Bazilian, Morgan, 2012. "Energy-Based Economic Development: Mapping the Developing Country Context," Energy: Resources and Markets 123278, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    19. Cracolici, Maria Francesca & Cuffaro, Miranda & Lacagnina, Valerio, 2018. "Assessment of Sustainable Well-being in the Italian Regions: An Activity Analysis Model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 105-110.
    20. Managi, Shunsuke, 2006. "Are there increasing returns to pollution abatement? Empirical analytics of the Environmental Kuznets Curve in pesticides," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 617-636, June.

    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:spr:soinre:v:120:y:2015:i:1:p:29-65. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.