Dual weak–strong sustainability synthetic indicators using a double reference point scheme: the case of Andalucía, Spain

José M. Cabello, Enrique Navarro-Jurado, Beatriz Rodríguez, Daniela Thiel-Ellul and Francisco Ruiz ()
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José M. Cabello: Universidad de Málaga
Enrique Navarro-Jurado: Universidad de Málaga
Beatriz Rodríguez: Universidad de Málaga
Daniela Thiel-Ellul: Universidad de Málaga
Francisco Ruiz: Universidad de Málaga

Operational Research, 2019, vol. 19, issue 3, No 9, 757-782

Abstract: Abstract Assessing sustainability has become a major issue among the researchers in the last decades, and many different methodologies have been proposed for this purpose. Sustainability is, by nature, multidimensional and thus, it pursues a balance between its multiple dimensions (economical, social, environmental, etc.). Being a multicriteria concept, it seems reasonable to use multicriteria tools to measure sustainability. In this paper, a double reference point scheme is proposed for the construction of synthetic sustainability indicators. With this scheme, it is possible to build a weak synthetic indicator, which allows full compensation among the individual indicators, and a strong synthetic indicator, which does not allow any compensation. The joint visualization of these indicators lets us identify in an easy and intuitive way the strengths and weaknesses of each territory. Besides, full rankings can be obtained using mixed synthetic indicators, which allow for different partial compensation degrees, and provide the user with a global overview of the sustainability of the region. This scheme has been applied to the 770 municipalities of Andalusia (South of Spain). 52 individual indicators have been used, classified in 4 dimensions: environmental, social, economic and financial.

Keywords: Multicriteria decision making; Double reference point scheme; Sustainability; Synthetic indicators (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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DOI: 10.1007/s12351-018-0390-5

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