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Quantifying Sustainability: A New Approach and World Ranking

Author

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  • Carraro, Carlo
  • Campagnolo, Lorenza
  • Eboli, Fabio
  • Lanzi, Elisa
  • Parrado, Ramiro
  • Portale, Elisa

Abstract

This paper proposes a new tool to assess sustainability and make the concept of sustainable development operational. It considers its multi-dimensional structure combining the information deriving from a selection of relevant sustainability indicators belonging to economic, social and environmental pillars. It reproduces the dynamics of these indicators over time and countries. Then, it aggregates these indicators using a new approach based on Choquet’s integrals. The main novelties of this approach are indeed: (i) the modelling framework, a recursive-dynamic computable general equilibrium used to calculate the evolution of all indicators over time throughout the world, and (ii) the aggregation methodology to reconcile them in one aggregate index to measure overall sustainability. The former allows capturing the sector and regional interactions and higher-order effects driven by background assumptions on relevant variables to depict future scenarios. The latter makes it possible to compare sustainability performances, under alternative scenarios, across countries and over time. Main results show that the current sustainability at world level differs from what the traditional measure of well-being, the GDP, depicts, highlighting the trade-offs among different components of sustainability. Moreover, in the next decade a slight decrease in world sustainability may occur, in spite of an expected increase in world domestic product. Finally, dedicated policies increase overall sustainability, showing that social and environmental benefits may be greater than the correlated economic costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Carraro, Carlo & Campagnolo, Lorenza & Eboli, Fabio & Lanzi, Elisa & Parrado, Ramiro & Portale, Elisa, 2012. "Quantifying Sustainability: A New Approach and World Ranking," Climate Change and Sustainable Development 143124, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:feemcl:143124
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.143124
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    Cited by:

    1. Francesco Sica & Francesco Tajani & Maria Rosaria Guarini & Rossana Ranieri, 2023. "A Sensitivity Index to Perform the Territorial Sustainability in Uncertain Decision-Making Conditions," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-21, February.
    2. Caterina Cruciani & Silvio Giove & Mehmet Pinar & Matteo Sostero, 2012. "Constructing the FEEM Sustainability Index: A Choquet-Integral Application," Working Papers 2012.50, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    3. Elettra Agliardi & Mehmet Pinar & Thanasis Stengos, 2015. "An environmental degradation index based on stochastic dominance," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 439-459, February.
    4. Yuanhong Tian & Matthias Ruth & Dajian Zhu & Jinfeng Ding & Nicholas Morris, 2019. "A Sustainability Assessment of Five Major Food Crops’ Water Footprints in China from 1978 to 2010," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-20, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • 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
    • C68 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Computable General Equilibrium Models

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