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On the possibility of sustainable development with less economic growth: a research note

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Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss whether it is possible to achieve human development without or with less economic growth. For this to happen, it is important that developed countries can maintain high levels of human development while reducing the scale of production and consumption so that developing countries can achieve greater economic growth. Using panel data from 118 countries aggregated in ten blocks of countries, we assess the influence of “growth” on “development”, as proxied by a transformed variable “Social Human Development Index” (SHDI), controlling for the influence of geo-economic factors. In particular, we analyse whether developed countries present a weaker statistical relation between GDP and the social dimension of HDI than their less developed counterparts. Results reveal that the GDP elasticity of SHDI is higher in blocks of countries where the concentration of developing countries occurs than in blocks dominated by the presence of developed countries. Thus, it is possible to envisage that a slowdown in economic activity in developed countries may occur without great sacrifice of human development, at least when it is measured by health and education components. We interpret the findings as meaning that at an aggregate level there are conditions for development to occur without or with less growth.

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Notes

  1. We define the GDP elasticity of SHDI as the percentage variation in SHDI caused by 1 % variation in GDP.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-464, Porto, Portugal

    Ângelo Barroso, Cristina Chaves, Francisco Vitorino Martins & Manuel Castelo Branco

Authors
  1. Ângelo Barroso
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  2. Cristina Chaves
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  3. Francisco Vitorino Martins
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  4. Manuel Castelo Branco
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristina Chaves.

Appendix: Countries distribution by the ten geo-economic blocks considered

Appendix: Countries distribution by the ten geo-economic blocks considered

Our distribution is based on the classification of the World Economic Situation and Prospects report (United Nations 2016). Countries were then divided in “developed”, “in transition” and “developing”, and a BRICS group was considered as an autonomous block. The developed countries were aggregated in two blocks (EE and NEDE) and transition countries in a single block (IT). The remaining countries were distributed by two subregions per continent, Africa (NA and CEA), Asia (EA and SWA) and America (MCCA and SA).

European economies (EE)

Non-European developed economies (NEDE)

In transition economies (IT)

Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America (MCCA)

South America (SA)

Austria

Italy

Australia

Albania

Costa Rica

Bolivia

Belgium

Latvia

Canada

Armenia

Dominican Republic

Chile

Bulgaria

Lithuania

Japan

Kazakhstan

El Salvador

Colombia

Croatia

Netherlands

New Zealand

Kyrgyzstan

Guatemala

Ecuador

Czech Republic

Norway

United States

Moldova

Haiti

Paraguay

Denmark

Poland

 

Serbia

Honduras

Peru

Estonia

Portugal

 

Tajikistan

Mexico

Uruguay

Finland

Slovakia

 

Ukraine

Nicaragua

Venezuela

France

Slovenia

  

Panama

 

Germany

Spain

  

Trinidad and Tobago

 

Greece

Sweden

    

Hungary

Switzerland

    

Ireland

United Kingdom

    

Central and East Africa (CEA)

North Africa (NA)

East Asia (EA)

South and Western Asia (SWA)

BRICS

Benin

Mali

Algeria

Cambodia

Bangladesh

Brazil

Botswana

Mauritius

Egypt

Indonesia

Iran

China

Burundi

Mozambique

Libya

Laos

Iraq

India

Cameroon

Namibia

Mauritania

Malaysia

Israel

Russian Federation

Central African Republic

Niger

Morocco

Mongolia

Jordan

South Africa

Congo

Rwanda

Sudan

Papua New Guinea

Kuwait

 

Cote d’Ivoire

Senegal

Tunisia

Philippines

Nepal

 

Gabon

Sierra Leone

 

Thailand

Pakistan

 

Gambia

Swaziland

 

Vietnam

Saudi Arabia

 

Ghana

Tanzania

  

Sri Lanka

 

Kenya

Togo

  

Turkey

 

Lesotho

Uganda

  

United Arab Emirates

 

Liberia

Zambia

  

Yemen

 

Malawi

     

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Barroso, Â., Chaves, C., Martins, F.V. et al. On the possibility of sustainable development with less economic growth: a research note. Environ Dev Sustain 18, 1399–1414 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-016-9802-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-016-9802-y

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