Comprehensive green growth indicators across countries and territories

Area of Science:

• Environmental Economics
• Sustainable Development
• Climate Change Policy

Background:

• Defining and measuring green growth is challenging, hindering effective policy guidance for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
• Existing aggregated methods for green growth indices lack consistency and clarity.
• A clear framework is needed to guide policymakers toward sustainable economic development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct comprehensive green growth measures from 1990 to 2021 for 203 countries.
• To address the lack of clear definitions and common measures in green growth research.
• To provide robust data for policy formulation on green economic development.

Main Methods:

• Developed novel green growth indicators based on five dimensions: natural resource base, socio-economic outcomes, environmental productivity, environmental-related policy responses, and quality of life.
• Employed a generalized least squares attributed-standardized-weighted index technique.
• Controlled for highly correlated variables and missing values in the dataset.

Main Results:

• Constructed green growth measures for 203 countries spanning 1990-2021.
• The novel index technique effectively handles data complexities, including correlated variables and missing values.
• The indicators provide a consistent and clear framework for assessing green economic development.

Conclusions:

• The developed green growth measures offer a valuable tool for policymakers globally.
• This research contributes to a clearer understanding of green economic development determinants.
• The indicators facilitate both country-specific and global data modeling for informed policy decisions.