Analysis of the impact of success on three dimensions of sustainability in 173 countries | Scientific Reports – Nature.com

Our study method includes the following stages: (1) framing the investigation problem, (2) examining the literature, (3) developing and verifying two hypotheses, (4) collecting data, (5) the multiple criteria examination of 173 countries by means of the Degree of Project Utility and Investment Value Assessments (INVAR) method, (6) calculating correlations between 33 indicators and the success of 173 countries, (7) building 12 regression models, (8) compiling eight Maps (of which seven are CSS Maps) visualizing national success and sustainability, (9) spatial perspective analysis, and (10) performing integrated linear regression, multi-variant design and multiple criteria analysis of national policy alternatives, in order to identify rational decisions.

This research is a quantitative study to examine the way national success affects 12 indicators of the three dimensions of sustainability in 173 countries, and uses the data from 2020, or the latest available.

As investigation methods, our CSS Maps and Models can make it easier to study interdependencies between country success and sustainability. Supplementary Section1, 4, and 5 presents our literature analysis which is carried out to gain deeper insights into our CSS Maps and Models, and to better understand their components in the worldwide research context.

The following two core hypotheses have been proposed and verified for this research:

Hypothesis 1The increasing success of a country is generally accompanied by increasing values for the three dimensions of sustainability indicators, and declines in these indicators lead to decreases in the countrys success. Improving some sustainability indicators tends to improve other sustainability indicators.

Hypothesis 2Changes in the number of countries and their traditional key indicators system do not make a very significant difference to the relative national sustainability and success values. Likewise, the boundaries of the seven country clusters discussed in this research do not excessively depend on specific traditional key systems of indicators used in their analysis.

Along with different sets of national 17 success (Supplementary Table S1) and 12 sustainability (Supplementary Table S2) indicators, the INVAR method46 (Supplementary Section2 and Fig. S1) was used to measure and map the success of the 173 countries selected as the focus for this research. The traditional statistical indicator systems defining country success and the three dimensions of sustainability are based on studies from various countries analyzed and combined. The INVAR method calculates an integrated criterion characterizing the overall success of the countries. This integrated criterion is directly proportional to the relative effect the values and weights of the given criteria make on the countrys success. The multiple-criteria INVAR analysis method has been applied to various countries, including Asian nations47, ex-Soviet states48, and a group of 169 countries49.

This research used data from the framework of variables taken from various databases and websites, including Transparency International, Global Data, Eurostat-OECD, the World Bank, Knoema, the World Health Organization, Global Finance, Freedom House, Heritage, the Global Footprint Network, Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center, Our World in Data, Climate Change Knowledge Portal (World Bank Group), and The Institute for Economics and Peace, as well as global and national statistics and publications. All 173 countries analyzed in this article are listed in matrices, along with their 17 detailed success (Supplementary Table S1) and 12 sustainability (Supplementary Table S2) indicators (systems of indicators, their numbering, values, and weights). The INVAR method46 was applied to perform multiple criteria analysis of the 173 countries, and the results are presented in Supplementary Table S1 and Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5. We use equal and different weights of 17 indicators to calculate the deviation of priorities for the 173 countries, which stands at 5.34% (Supplementary Section2 and Fig. S2).

Along with different sets of 12 national sustainability and 17 success indicators, the INVAR method46 was used to measure and map the success of the 173 countries selected as the focus of this research. The traditional statistical indicator systems defining country success and the three dimensions of sustainability are based on studies from various countries analyzed and combined. The INVAR method calculates an integrated criterion characterizing the overall success of the countries. This integrated criterion is directly proportional to the relative effect the values and weights of the given criteria make on the countrys success.

Supplementary Table S3 shows the correlations between all measures determined by analyzing 173 countries. Supplementary Table S4 reveals the correlation coefficient matrix of the 17 success criteria for each of the 173 countries analyzed in this survey.

Along the vertical axis y we analyze seven sustainability indicators, and along the horizontal axis x we analyze the success and priority indicators (9 CSS Map dimensions). The median correlation between the survival versus self-expression values and the nine CSS Map dimensions (the x-axis and y-axis) is moderate, whereas the median correlation between the traditional versus secularrational values and the nine CSS Map dimensions is strong (Fig.1).

Tables S5-S8 show the descriptive statistics of 12 CSS Models (Supplementary Section3). Supplementary Table S8 shows the extent to which a 1% increase or decrease in success of countrys features can push sustainability indicators up or down, expressed as a percentage. Supplementary Table S8 also shows the degree to which the percentage changes of success or the values of countrys features explain or fail to explain the dispersion of sustainability indicators. These CSS Models (Supplementary Section3) show that when a countrys success increases by 1%, its 12 indicators related to the three dimensions of sustainability improve by on average 0.85% (Supplementary Table S8). Furthermore, the 17 variables of country success used in the CSS Models explain 80.8% on average of the dispersion of the three dimensions of sustainability and 98.2% of the dispersion of the country success variable (Supplementary Table S8).

An increase of 1% in a countrys success is accompanied by a 0.39%average increase in its social and environmental (0.84% on average) sustainability indicators (Supplementary Table S8). On average, the CSS Sustainability Models explain 76.3% of the dispersions among the environmental sustainability indicators, 83.4%of the dispersions among the social sustainability indicators, and 94.5% of the dispersion among economic (i.e. the gross national income per capita) sustainability indicators (Supplementary Table S8).

The study produced the eight Maps (of which seven are CSS Maps) of the World based on an analysis of 99150 countries (the 2020 InglehartWelzel Cultural Map of the World focused on 103 analogical CSS Maps countries). The two dimensions of country success on the CSS Maps are represented in a system of 17 variables (Supplementary Table S1). When a countrys success grows, its performance related to the three dimensions of sustainable development increases as well, and the eight Maps (of which seven are CSS Maps) clearly illustrate this relationship (Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5). The CSS Maps of the World developed as part of this study are described in Supplementary Section5.

Studies from various countries and our research suggest that country success and their features (x-axis) and sustainability indicators (y-axis) are generally strongly interrelated, and move in the same direction over time. This means that successful countries also perform better on sustainability dimensions.

Stage 9 involved analysis of the spatial perspective research in place for explaining and predicting globally recognised physical, spatial, and human patterns in multiple ways. We apply 12 CSS Models, alternative design and multi-criteria analysis methods for spatial perspective analysis (Supplementary Section4).

The following additional two research objectives were set: (1) to determine the impact of a countrys success factors on sustainability metrics, and (2) to offer stakeholders recommendations regarding the strategies for improving sustainability indicators. The ways to improve sustainability indicators are determined by analysing 17 dependent variables (the main paper section Practical applications and implications, Table S9). As previously mentioned, in stage 10, national policy options have been examined by means of integrated linear regression, multi-variant design and multiple criteria analysis to identify rational decisions. Analysis of multiple alternative options and their detailed indicators, with a consideration of the existing state of the micro, meso, and macro environment, can ensure rational country success and sustainability. Below, a brief analysis of several best global practice examples of ways to identify rational policy, activities, and strategy follows. The examples presented below suggest that multiple possible alternatives must be designed, assessed against a system of micro, meso and macro indicators, and the most effective options selected to make countries more sustainable. In Isham and Jacksons14 opinion, materialistic lifestyles and values have been associated with adverse effects on human health as well as having detrimental effects on our planet. Therefore, activities and lifestyles should be identified that promote human well-being, yet which at the same time protect ecological security. Isham and Jackson14 identify optimal activities (arts and crafts, reading, sports, meditating) with high levels of human well-being and low environmental costs. It is important to estimate pollution impacts on health in order to come up with the right policies for better health outcomes. Yet, the task is challenging because economic activity can lead to worse pollution, but can also improve health outcomes in its own right37. Humidity, temperature, dispersal by the wind, and other environmental factors contribute to pollution levels. Certain fine particulates can stay in the atmosphere for days, and travel long distances to be inhaled in places far away from the source, even in other continents. Local conditions must be reflected in emissions-control policies, and the global flows of air pollutants must be taken into account6. The explanation for the phenomenon of demographic transition could be improved public health in developed countries which results in a move toward a slower life strategy38. Studies show that children from wealthier backgrounds undergo puberty later than those from poor socio-economic backgrounds. Early puberty can lead to a variety of health problems and a shorter life. By the early adult years, the effects of exposure to trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other conditions can become apparent in the form of diseases related to aging9. Education is a very important factor in economic growth, and is also strongly related to health. In addition to health benefits, substantial increases in education, especially of women, and shrinking gender gaps have an important effect on the roles and status of women in society36.

The INVAR method, statistical analysis, and the CSS Maps and Models can help generate multiple policy recommendations for various stakeholders. The possibilities are as follows:

To create alternatives for ways to develop country success and sustainability, by performing countries multiple criteria and statistical analysis and identifying decisions that would be rational;

to perform quantitative and qualitative analysis of the existing data and to interpret it. The results obtained this way would prompt automatic recommendations designed for different stakeholders on ways to improve country sustainability.

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Analysis of the impact of success on three dimensions of sustainability in 173 countries | Scientific Reports - Nature.com