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Evaluation of Existing Indexes of Sustainable Well-Being and Propositions for Improvement

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  • Gaël Brulé

    (Institute of sociology, University of Neuchatel, 2000 Neuchatel, Switzerland)

Abstract

The relationship between sustainability and well-being is inconclusive in the literature, with some studies showing consonance while others show dissonance. On top of differences of scale (micro or macro) and of methods, part of this conflict in narratives is due to differences in measurement. In this paper I evaluate the quality of existing indexes linking both concepts at a macro level (Happy Planet Index (first generation and second generation), Sustainable Development Goals Index, Human Sustainable Development Index, Sustainable Development Index, Gaucher’s index). Recognizing the limits of all of them and acknowledging that the current landscape of measures is over-oriented towards cognitive measures on the well-being side and ecological footprint-oriented on the environmental side, I propose some alternatives to complete the current measures and I discuss possible implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaël Brulé, 2022. "Evaluation of Existing Indexes of Sustainable Well-Being and Propositions for Improvement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:2:p:1027-:d:726677
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yuan Li & Dabo Guan & Yanni Yu & Stephen Westland & Daoping Wang & Jing Meng & Xuejun Wang & Kebin He & Shu Tao, 2019. "A psychophysical measurement on subjective well-being and air pollution," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Erda Wang & Nannan Kang, 2019. "Does life satisfaction matter for pro-environmental behavior? Empirical evidence from China General Social Survey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 449-469, January.
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