Abstract
In this paper an attempt is made to illustrate some ways in which social, economic and environmental indicators can be combined to tell a coherent story about the sustainability of human well-being. Using examples from the fields of health, the fishing industry and energy, it is argued that one's success at constructing a single comprehensive system of indicators of human well-being will always be limited by one's particular point of departure from social, economic or environmental indicators. If that is indeed the case, then it would be helpful for researchers to abandon attempts to construct single comprehensive utopian systems in favour of agreed upon lists of important goals, indicators and monitoring procedures that can be used to implement progressive social change.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Anderson, C. A.: 1989, 'Temperature and aggression: Ubiquitous effects of heat on occurrence of human violences', Psychological Bulletin 106, pp. 74–96.
Born, A.: 1993, 'Preliminary estimates of the value of crude oil and natural gas reserves in Albertas', Environmental Perspectives 1993: Studies and Statistics (Statistics Canada, Ottawa), pp. 79–91.
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: 1992, Which Way for the Americas: Analysis of NAFTA Proposals and the Impact on Canada (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Ottawa).
Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants: 1989, Accounting and Reporting for Physical Assets by Governments (Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, Toronto).
Dillon, J.: 1988, 'A continental energy policys', The Facts 10, pp. 47–50.
Dwyer, W. O. et al.: 1993, 'Critical review of behavioral interventions to preserve the environment, research since 1980s', Environment and Behavior 25, pp. 275–321.
Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice: 1990, Recolonization or Liberation: The Bonds of Structural Adjustment and Struggles for Emancipation (Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice, Toronto).
Environment Canada: 1991, The State of Canada's Environment (Minister of Supply and Services, Ottawa).
Environment Canada: 1994, 'Sustaining marine resources: Pacific herring fish stocks', SOE Bulletin No. 94-5 (September), pp. 1–6.
Eisner, R.: 1988, 'Extended accounts for national income and products', Journal of Economic Literature 26, pp. 1611–1684.
Forsey, H.: 1995, 'But not in Canada, you say? Pity!', CCPA Monitor 1, Dec./Jan., p. 7.
Harvey, E. B., J. H. Blakely and L. Tepperman: 1990, 'Toward an index of gender equalitys', Social Indicators Research 22, pp. 299–317.
Hamilton, K.: 1993, 'Energy consumptions', Environmental Perspectives 1993: Studies and Statistics (Statistics Canada, Ottawa), pp. 3–8.
Michael, R. P. and D. Zumpe: 1986, 'An annual rhythm in the battering of womens', American Journal of Psychiatry 143, pp. 637–640.
Michalos, A. C.: 1970, 'Cost-benefit versus expected utility acceptance rules', Theory and Decision 1, pp. 61–88.
Michalos, A. C.: 1973, 'Rationality between the maximizers and the satisfiers', Policy Sciences 2, pp. 229–244.
Michalos, A. C.: 1978, Foundations of Decision-Making (Canadian Library of Philosophy, Ottawa).
Michalos, A. C.: 1980, North American Social Report, Vol. 1: Foundations, Population and Health (D. Reidel, Dordrecht).
Michalos, A. C.: 1981, North American Social Report, Vol. 4: Environment, Transportation and Housing (D. Reidel, Dordrecht).
Michalos, A. C.: 1992, 'Ethical considerations in evaluations', The Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation 7, pp. 61–75.
Michalos, A. C.: 1991, Global Report on Student Well-Being, Vol. 1: Life Satisfaction and Happiness (Springer-Verlag, New York).
Michalos, A. C.: 1993,Global Report on Student Well-Being, Vol. 3: Employment, Finances, Housing and Transportation (Springer-Verlag, New York).
Michalos, A. C.: 1993a, Global Report on Student Well-Being, Vol. 4: Religion, Education, Recreation and Health (Springer-Verlag, New York).
Michalos, A. C.: 1995, A Pragmatic Approach to Business Ethics (Sage Pub., Thousand Oaks, California).
Munasinghe, M.: 1993, 'The economist's approach to sustainable developments', Finance and Development 30 (December), pp. 16–19.
Petersen, R. and E. von Weizsacker: 1993, 'Mobility in the greenhouses', United Nations Environment Program, Industry and Environment 6 (June), pp. 7–10.
Rotton, J.: 1993, 'Atmospheric and temporal correlates of sex crimes', Environment and Behavior 25, pp. 625–642.
Rotton, J. and J. Frey: 1985, 'Air pollution, weather, and violent crimes: Concomitant time-series analysis of archival data', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 49, pp. 1207–1220.
Sinclair, S.: 1993, 'The use of US trade remedy laws: Case study of the softwood lumber disputes', in Canadian Environmental Law Association (ed.), The Environment Implications of Trade Agreements (Canadian Environmental Law Association, Toronto), pp. 195–221.
Statistics Canada: 1994, Human Activity and the Environment 1994 (Minister of Supply and Services, Ottawa).
Statistics Canada: 1980, Perspectives Canada III (Minister of Supply and Services, Ottawa).
Steer, A. and E. Lutz: 1993, 'Measuring environmentally sustainable developments', Finance and Development 30 (December), pp. 20–23.
United Nations: 1993, 'Transport and the environment: Facts and figures', United Nations Environment Program, Industry and Environment 6 (January–June), pp. 4–6.
United Nations: 1994, Human Development Report 1994 (Oxford University Press, New York).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Michalos, A.C. COMBINING SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS TO MEASURE SUSTAINABLE HUMAN WELL-BEING. Social Indicators Research 40, 221–258 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006815729503
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006815729503