How to aggregate sustainable development indicators: a proposed framework and its application Online publication date: Tue, 22-Nov-2005
by Nigel Jollands
International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology (IJARGE), Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006
Abstract: Decision makers are constantly bombarded with indicators that can lead to indicator fatigue and information overload. Many decision makers call for a few aggregated indicators to simplify decision-making. This call has led to the development of several prominent aggregate indices such as the ecological footprint index and the living planet index. Despite this flurry of empirical index activity, the sustainable development indicator literature has been relatively quiet on the critical methodological issues associated with constructing aggregate indices. This paper attempts to address the theoretical lacuna associated with aggregate indices. By presenting an ideal process for aggregating indicators, this paper provides a framework for addressing the many methodological issues associated with index development. This paper thus attempts to add another dimension to the aggregate-indices-related literature, which has hitherto had an applied and empirical focus. In doing so, the aim is to improve the rigour with which aggregate indices are developed, and therefore, their usefulness.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology (IJARGE):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com