HAPPY PLANET INDEX Flashcards
1 Development Theories
What is the Happy Planet Index (HPI)?
Best global metric for evaluating a subjective concept like sustainable well-being. It is a composite metric that assesses how well nations use their limited environmental resources to provide their citizens with long, happy lives.
What historical context led to the creation of the HPI?
The early 21st century saw an increase in emissions, necessitating the measurement of costs. The Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare was created but was complicated and based on assumptions. Psychologists inspired the shift towards measuring subjective feelings rather than economics. The first HPI was published in July 2006, with subsequent editions in 2009, 2012, and 2016.
What does HPI measure?
sustainable well-being for all.
What is the significance of the HPI?
- influences global discussions on measuring progress, encourages policymakers and researchers, and
- serves as a significant tool in reimagining how societies define and measure progress,
- advocating for a balance between human happiness and environmental sustainability.
What is HPI not an indicator of?
- happiest country,
- best place to live,
- most developed country in - traditional sense,
- most environmentally friendly.
What are the core components of HPI?
- Experienced Well being
- Life expectancy
- Ecological Footprint
Governing Concepts in HPI
- Ecological Efficiency
- Equity
- Sustainability
What is Ecological Efficiency in the context of HPI?
- balances economic activity with ecological responsibility, ensuring that human progress does not come at the cost of the planet’s health.
- measures how effectively a country converts its natural resource use into the well-being of its citizens.
What does Equity mean in the HPI framework?
- ensures that well-being and resources are fairly distributed across a population,
- promoting inclusive development that benefits all members of society.
How does HPI define Sustainability?
- emphasizes long-term ecological health rather than short-term economic gains,
- ensuring that economic and social progress does not come at the expense of environmental degradation.
What are some strengths of HPI?
- provides clear guidance on societal progress
- simplifies complex concepts
- challenges growth-based development
- ensures holistic measurement of development.
What are some strengths of HPI?
provides clear guidance on societal progress
It ensures that important issues are included in all aspects of decision-making processes.
What are some strengths of HPI?
simplifies complex concepts
Refines complex interrelationships between human well-being and environmental sustainability into a digestible metric.
What are some strengths of HPI?
challenges growth-based development
proves that nations can achieve high well-being without excessive resource consumption.
What are some strengths of HPI?
ensures holistic measurement of development.
it ensures that the country’s development is not just measured by its economic prosperity but also by how efficiently it achieves happiness from its resources.
What are some weaknesses of HPI?
- overlooked variables
- data subjectivity
- CO2 centricity,
- data limitations
- challenges in interpretation
- disregard for the rehabilitative capacity of forests.
What are some weaknesses of HPI?
- overlooked variables
Crucial variables such as prevailing government structure, social inequality, behavioral patterns, and even issues involving human, labor, and freedom rights are not included in measuring HPI.
What are some weaknesses of HPI?
data subjectivity
HPI has variables that are very subjective in nature, adding complexity to the modeling and non
-representative results, such as the methods of measuring wellbeing.
What are some weaknesses of HPI?
CO2 centricity
CFP ignores water scarcity, emissions of toxic substances, and resource depletion; hence, carbon footprint alone is a poor representative of environmental accountability.
What are some weaknesses of HPI?
data limitations
Happy Planet Index only relies on available data. Since HPI depends on robust data, not all countries are measured under the index, hence creating data gaps, then creating inconsistencies in data sets and heighten the difficulty of data analysis
What are some weaknesses of HPI?
challenges in interpretation
The complexity of the variables makes it difficult to identify what specific elements contribute to a country’s success or failure on the index, potentially leading to misinterpretations of the data.
What are some weaknesses of HPI?
disregard for the rehabilitative capacity of forests.
It fails to account for the ability of trees and rehabilitated forests to sequester carbon from the environment
