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Measuring Regional Wealth and Assessing Sustainable Development: An Application to a Disaster-Torn Region in Japan

Author

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  • Rintaro Yamaguchi

    (Kyoto University)

  • Masayuki Sato

    (Kobe University)

  • Kazuhiro Ueta

    (Kyoto University)

Abstract

We construct a regional comprehensive wealth as an indicator of sustainability in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Of particular interest is the change in wealth before and after a natural disaster, since the index could serve as a benchmark of investment into post-disaster reconstruction. We first discuss an optimum spatial unit of wealth accounting and sustainability analysis. The resultant regional wealth index had already been slightly declining during the 2000s due to stagnant investment into capital assets, oil capital loss, and budget deficit burden, until a natural disaster made the region significantly unsustainable. This wealth trend also differs from what emerges from the figures in Inclusive Wealth Report 2012. Including population decrease makes the wealth per capita look better, whose interpretation warrants caution due to the neglected forward-looking demographic change in a developed nation.

Suggested Citation

  • Rintaro Yamaguchi & Masayuki Sato & Kazuhiro Ueta, 2016. "Measuring Regional Wealth and Assessing Sustainable Development: An Application to a Disaster-Torn Region in Japan," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(1), pages 365-389, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:129:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-015-1106-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-015-1106-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Yamaguchi, Rintaro, 2014. "Inclusive wealth with a changing but aging population," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 124(1), pages 21-25.
    2. Rintaro Yamaguchi & Moinul Islam & Shunsuke Managi, 2019. "Inclusive wealth in the twenty-first century: a summary and further discussion of Inclusive Wealth Report 2018," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 101-111, August.
    3. Hidemichi Fujii & Masayuki Sato & Shunsuke Managi, 2017. "Decomposition Analysis of Forest Ecosystem Services Values," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-14, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inclusive wealth; Sustainable development; Genuine savings; Disaster reconstruction; Population change;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E01 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth; Environmental Accounts
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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