IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/penwps/315198.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Satisfying human needs at low material footprints: An investigation on the role of provisioning systems

Author

Listed:
  • Garnier, Félix

Abstract

To achieve social and environmental sustainability, humankind must balance satisfying human needs and preventing ecological collapse. The material footprint-the total materials required for production and consumption-plays a crucial role in this dynamic. This study uses data from 151 countries and a regression-based moderation approach to analyse how material footprints and human need satisfaction are influenced by socio-economic factors known as "provisioning factors."Countries with strong socioecological performance were characterized by factors such as democracy, rule of law, public health coverage, effective corruption control, access to electricity and clean fuels, trade and transport infrastructure, and urbanization. In contrast, weaker socio-ecological performance was often marked by extractivism and inequality. Improving provisioning systems could help countries reduce material use while enhancing need satisfaction. Yet, even under favorable conditions, the current economic system remains incompatible with socio-ecological sustainability, highlighting the need for more radical changes to meet human needs with minimal material consumption.

Suggested Citation

  • Garnier, Félix, 2025. "Satisfying human needs at low material footprints: An investigation on the role of provisioning systems," Working Paper Series 05/2025, Post-Growth Economics Network (PEN).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:penwps:315198
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/315198/1/1921454296.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xavier D’Haultfoeuille & Pauline Givord, 2014. "La régression quantile en pratique," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 471(1), pages 85-111.
    2. Katharina Bohnenberger, 2020. "Money, Vouchers, Public Infrastructures? A Framework for Sustainable Welfare Benefits," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-30, January.
    3. Nicholas Bainton & Deanna Kemp & Eleonore Lèbre & John R. Owen & Greg Marston, 2021. "The energy‐extractives nexus and the just transition," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(4), pages 624-634, July.
    4. Stefan Giljum & Martin Bruckner & Aldo Martinez, 2015. "Material Footprint Assessment in a Global Input-Output Framework," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 19(5), pages 792-804, October.
    5. Brambor, Thomas & Clark, William Roberts & Golder, Matt, 2006. "Understanding Interaction Models: Improving Empirical Analyses," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 63-82, January.
    6. Andrew Jorgenson, 2015. "Inequality and the carbon intensity of human well-being," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(3), pages 277-282, September.
    7. Victor Ushahemba Ijirshar, 2022. "Trade Facilitation and Economic Growth Among Middle-Income Countries," Papers 2204.11088, arXiv.org.
    8. Gough, Ian, 2019. "Universal Basic Services: a theoretical and moral framework," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101051, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Daniel W. O’Neill & Andrew L. Fanning & William F. Lamb & Julia K. Steinberger, 2018. "A good life for all within planetary boundaries," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 1(2), pages 88-95, February.
    10. Hickel, Jason, 2020. "The sustainable development index: Measuring the ecological efficiency of human development in the anthropocene," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    11. Jason Hickel, 2019. "Is it possible to achieve a good life for all within planetary boundaries?," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(1), pages 18-35, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Coulibaly, Yacouba, 2024. "Resource-backed loans and ecological efficiency of human development: Evidence from African countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    2. Hametner, Markus, 2022. "Economics without ecology: How the SDGs fail to align socioeconomic development with environmental sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    3. Virág, Doris & Wiedenhofer, Dominik & Baumgart, André & Matej, Sarah & Krausmann, Fridolin & Min, Jihoon & Rao, Narasimha D. & Haberl, Helmut, 2022. "How much infrastructure is required to support decent mobility for all? An exploratory assessment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    4. Kristin Linnerud & Erling Holden & Morten Simonsen, 2021. "Closing the sustainable development gap: A global study of goal interactions," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(4), pages 738-753, July.
    5. Topf, Julie & Schultz, Leonardo A. & Silva, José Maria Cardoso da, 2023. "An index to measure the sustainability of place-based development pathways," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PA).
    6. Assa, Jacob, 2021. "Less is more: The implicit sustainability content of the human development index," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    7. Stefano Di Bucchianico & Federica Cappelli, 2021. "Exploring the theoretical link between profitability and luxury emissions," Working Papers PKWP2114, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    8. Richard Bärnthaler & Andreas Novy & Leonhard Plank, 2021. "The Foundational Economy as a Cornerstone for a Social–Ecological Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-19, September.
    9. Biggeri, Mario & Ferrone, Lucia, 2022. "Child Sustainable Human Development Index (CSHDI): Monitoring progress for the future generation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    10. Karen Bell & Jason Hickel & Rob Arbon & Huzaifa Zoomkawala, 2023. "Which direction for sustainable development? A time series comparison of the impacts of redistributive versus market policies in Bolivia and South Korea," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(5), pages 3408-3427, October.
    11. Morten Tønnessen, 2023. "Wasted GDP in the USA," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.
    12. Oyebola Etudaiye-Muhtar, Fatima & Johan, Sofia & Lawal, Rodiat & Sakariyahu, Rilwan, 2024. "Fintech, human development and energy poverty in sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    13. Gómez-Alvarez Díaz, M. Rosario & Pérez León, Víctor Ernesto & Fuentes Saguar, Patricia, 2024. "How close are European countries to the doughnut-shaped safe and just space? Evidence from 26 EU countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    14. Jonas Slycken & Brent Bleys, 2023. "Towards ISEW and GPI 2.0: Dealing with Cross-Time and Cross-Boundary Issues in a Case Study for Belgium," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 557-583, August.
    15. Schuster, Antonia & Lindner, Michael & Otto, Ilona M., 2023. "Whose house is on fire? Identifying socio-demographic and housing characteristics driving differences in the UK household CO2 emissions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    16. Jungell-Michelsson, Jessica & Heikkurinen, Pasi, 2022. "Sufficiency: A systematic literature review," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    17. Katharina Bohnenberger, 2020. "Money, Vouchers, Public Infrastructures? A Framework for Sustainable Welfare Benefits," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-30, January.
    18. Jouzi, Fatemeh & Levänen, Jarkko & Mikkilä, Mirja & Linnanen, Lassi, 2024. "To spend or to avoid? A critical review on the role of money in aiming for sufficiency," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    19. Eran Feitelson & Eliahu Stern, 2023. "The double negative approach to sustainability," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(4), pages 2109-2121, August.
    20. Büchs, Milena, 2021. "Sustainable welfare: How do universal basic income and universal basic services compare?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    material footprint; human needs; provisioning systems; sustainability;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation
    • C53 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Forecasting and Prediction Models; Simulation Methods
    • 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
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:zbw:penwps:315198. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.postgrowtheconomics.org/ .

    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.