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The Ecological Footprint of Happiness: A Case Study of a Low-Income Community in the City of São Paulo, Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • Biagio F. Giannetti

    (Post-Graduation Program on Production Engineering, Paulista University, São Paulo 04026-002, Brazil)

  • Rose Reis De Souza

    (Post-Graduation Program on Production Engineering, Paulista University, São Paulo 04026-002, Brazil)

  • Marcos J. Alves-Pinto

    (Post-Graduation Program on Production Engineering, Paulista University, São Paulo 04026-002, Brazil)

  • Cecília M. V. B. Almeida

    (Post-Graduation Program on Production Engineering, Paulista University, São Paulo 04026-002, Brazil)

  • Feni Agostinho

    (Post-Graduation Program on Production Engineering, Paulista University, São Paulo 04026-002, Brazil)

  • Luca Coscieme

    (Hot or Cool Institute, 10829 Berlin, Germany)

Abstract

An ecological footprint is an accounting tool that reports the balance between resource supply and demand to assess environmental sustainability. Among the many available indicators of social progress, happiness reflects how a person feels about their quality of life. We combined these two approaches to assess the ecological efficiency of social performance in the low-income community of Felicidade, in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2019. We assessed the ecological footprint and gross domestic happiness (GDH) through questionnaires. We found that the community has a lower environmental footprint than higher-income communities in Brazil. However, the per capita ecological footprint in the community is still above what is available per person globally. We found that the community has a high level of life satisfaction (GDH = 0.86) and that the main contributor to happiness is health, time use, psychological wellbeing, education, good governance, and community vitality. The results suggest that other contributors unrelated to income are more robust determinants of happiness. In Brazil, despite higher footprints characterizing higher-income communities, further efforts in low-income communities are needed to reduce environmental footprints, ensure dignified income, and nurture the underlying conditions for high levels of happiness and social capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Biagio F. Giannetti & Rose Reis De Souza & Marcos J. Alves-Pinto & Cecília M. V. B. Almeida & Feni Agostinho & Luca Coscieme, 2022. "The Ecological Footprint of Happiness: A Case Study of a Low-Income Community in the City of São Paulo, Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-10, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:19:p:12056-:d:923514
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Easterlin, Richard A, 2001. "Income and Happiness: Towards an Unified Theory," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(473), pages 465-484, July.
    2. Xiu Wu & Jinting Zhang & Daojun Zhang, 2021. "Explore Associations between Subjective Well-Being and Eco-Logical Footprints with Fixed Effects Panel Regressions," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-15, September.
    3. Ylitalo, Kelly R. & Umstattd Meyer, M.Renée & Stone, Kahler & Doyle, Eva I. & Curtis, Ramona, 2016. "Using the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) to assess barriers to healthy eating and active living in a low-income community," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 41-46.
    4. Jinting Zhang & F. Benjamin Zhan & Xiu Wu & Daojun Zhang, 2021. "Partial Correlation Analysis of Association between Subjective Well-Being and Ecological Footprint," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, January.
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