Gorny, Julia (2023) ASWell - Measuring accessible sustainable well-being. Bachelor thesis, Global Responsibility & Leadership (GRL).
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Abstract
Continuous economic growth is deemed incompatible with development and happiness as per the theory of uneven development and the Easterlin paradox. Thus, numerous alternative indexes to GDP have emerged in the past 30 years, aiming to measure progress, development, and well-being better. However, all these alternatives fall short of meeting all three of the following dimensions that lay the foundation for this paper’s research: Transcending the growth paradigm, capturing well-being in a balanced, sustainable way and being accessible and replicable. To address these limitations, the ASWell index has been developed and compared against GDP in how it reflects long-term sustainable well-being. Based on the OECD's methodological approach for composite indexes, the ASWell relies solely on secondary data. Country rankings and comparisons between ASWell and GDP per capita over time were analysed using descriptive statistics. Norway achieved the highest ASWell score (0.798), while Qatar ranked lowest (0.465). Europe and Central Asia scored highest overall, whereas the Middle East and North Africa ranked lowest on the index. Globally and regionally, ASWell scores and GDP per capita exhibited parallel growth. While GDP per capita tended to increase consistently, ASWell scores fluctuated, particularly among the top five ASWell-ranked countries. A small negative trend in global ASWell scores can also be detected starting in 2017. These findings support the Easterlin paradox, indicating that GDP can only approximate well-being up to a certain threshold. On a country level, a link between GDP and well-being is even more difficult to identify, tying into the theory of uneven development. Overall, countries that excel in the ASWell index, rather than those with high GDP per capita, like Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, should be considered models for achieving sustainable well-being worldwide. ASWell scores encompass economic, social, and carbon inequalities, offering a glimpse into the world's well-being if it were to mirror the conditions represented by a specific ASWell score. Keywords: GDP, growth, post-growth, well-being, SDH, strong sustainability, uneven development, Easterlin paradox
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Name supervisor: | Rotulo, A. |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Sep 2023 09:34 |
| Last Modified: | 12 Sep 2023 09:34 |
| URI: | https://campus-fryslan.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/251 |
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