TITLE:
Happiness, Environment and Wealth: What Can Bhutan Show Us about Resolving the Nexus?
AUTHORS:
Dorji Yangka, Peter Newman
KEYWORDS:
Bhutan, Carbon Neutral, Happiness, Wellbeing, Environment, Economic Growth, Regression Analysis, Environmental Kuznets Curve
JOURNAL NAME:
Modern Economy,
Vol.10 No.8,
August
23,
2019
ABSTRACT: The Environmental Kuznets
Curve hypothesis examines how economic development can improve environmental
outcomes (called Ecological Modernisation Theory) or it can cause worse
outcomes (called Treadmill of Production Theory). This paper examines Bhutan
which has committed policies for increased happiness and wealth while remaining
carbon neutral. The difference is being tested by regression analysis of how
economic growth varies with the environmental intensity of well being (EIWB).
The regression analysis shows that the case of Bhutan can be explained in terms
of the Treadmill of Production Theory based on economic and wellbeing growth harming the environment, however, it is simply too early in the EKC. The
data also show that population growth helps resolve the nexus which works more
in the Ecological Modernisation Theory perspective and supports the need to
continue urbanization to resolve these issues. Rather than just simply waiting
for economic growth to turn around the EKC, Bhutan should take direct action to
maintain its carbon neutral goal and its
happiness goal and thus continue to provide a model for the sustainable
development discourse in general. Highlights: 1) The concept of the environmental intensity of human well being
(EIWB) was used to examine the two dominant environmental impact theories:
Treadmill of Production Theory (TPT) under the IPAT hypothesis and Ecological
Modernisation Theory (EMT) for Bhutan under the framework of the EKC hypothesis.
2) The nexus between economic growth and EIWB leans towards TPT, but it is
still too early to see EKC though decoupling has begun and is likely to lead to
EMT. 3) The nexus between population and EIWB leans towards EMT. 4) The need
for intervention on social and environmental issues within a modified economic
growth trajectory remains the core finding of how sustainable development can
be achieved.