Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-zlvph Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-21T05:14:45.988Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

RESEARCH ARTICLE: GPI Island Style: Localizing the Genuine Progress Indicator to Hawaii

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2014

Regina Ostergaard-Klem  and
Kirsten L.L. Oleson
Regina Ostergaard-Klem*
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of Environmental Science, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Hawaii Pacific University, Honolulu, Hawaii. Assistant Professor of Ecological Economics, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Kirsten L.L. Oleson
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of Environmental Science, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Hawaii Pacific University, Honolulu, Hawaii. Assistant Professor of Ecological Economics, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii.
*
Address correspondence to: Regina Ostergaard-Klem, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Hawaii Pacific University, 45-045 Kamehameha Highway, Kaneohe, HI 96744; (phone) 808-566-2492; (fax) 808-236-5880; (e-mail) rostergaardklem@hpu.edu.
Get access

Abstract

Applying the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) to an island setting offers insight into whether and how standardization of subnational GPI models can adequately capture important local conditions and inform local policy. We argue in favor of localization and against scaling down national data and transferring valuation studies to Hawaii because of the state’s unique setting. To localize GPI to our context, we suggest (a) omitting some indicators that are not applicable to Hawaii; (b) expanding and discretizing the list of indicators to other important economic, environmental, and social changes; and (c) amending existing indicators to better reflect their contribution to Hawaii’s welfare. This would involve (a) improving local data on economic, social, and environmental changes; (b) building new indicators through a participatory process; and (c) conducting local valuation studies that accurately reflect the social value of the changes.

Environmental Practice 16: 1–12 (2014)

Information

Type
Features
Information
Environmental Practice , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , September 2014 , pp. 182 - 193
Copyright
© National Association of Environmental Professionals 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Anielski, M., Griffiths, M., Pollock, D., Taylor, A., Wilson, J., and Wilson, S.. 2001, April. Alberta Sustainability Trends 2000: Genuine Progress Indicators Report 1961 to 1999. Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development, Drayton Valley, Canada, 71 pp. Available at http://www.pembina.org/reports/gpi-ab2000-trends.pdf.Google Scholar
Anielski, M., and Rowe, J.. 1999, March. The Genuine Progress Indicator—1998 Update. Redefining Progress, San Francisco, 67 pp. Available at http://www.anielski.com/Documents/US%20GPI%20methodology%20handbook.pdf.Google Scholar
Bagstad, K.J., Berik, G., and Brown Gaddis, E.J.. 2014. Methodological Development in US State-Level Genuine Progress Indicators: Toward GPI 2.0. Ecological Indicators 45:474–485.Google Scholar
Bagstad, K.J., and Ceroni, M.. 2007. Opportunities and Challenges in Applying the Genuine Progress Indicator/Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare at Local Scales. International Journal of Environment, Workplace and Employment 3(2):132–153.Google Scholar
Bagstad, K.J., and Shammin, M.R.. 2012. Can the Genuine Progress Indicator Better Inform Sustainable Regional Progress?—A Case Study for Northeast Ohio. Ecological Indicators 18:330–341.Google Scholar
Bee, A. 2012. February. Household Income Inequality within US Counties: 2006–2010. American Community Survey Briefs. US Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 5 pp. Available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acsbr10-18.pdf.Google Scholar
Berik, G., and Gaddis, E.. 2011, January 25. The Utah Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) 1990 to 2007: A Report to the People of Utah. Utah Population and Environment Coalition, Salt Lake City, 137 pp. Available at http://www.utahpop.org/gpi.html.Google Scholar
Brennan, A.J. 2008. Theoretical Foundations of Sustainable Economic Welfare Indicators—ISEW and Political Economy of the Disembedded System. Ecological Economics 67(1):1–19.Google Scholar
Center on the Family. 2013. Homeless Service Utilization Report: Hawaii 2013. Center on the Family, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Honolulu, 16 pp. Available at http://uhfamily.hawaii.edu/publications/brochures/402d5_HomelessServiceUtilization2013.pdf.Google Scholar
Clarke, M., and Lawn, P.. 2008. Is Measuring Genuine Progress at the Sub-national Level Useful? Ecological Indicators 8(5):573–581.Google Scholar
Cobb, C.W., and Cobb, J.B.. 1994. The Green National Product: A Proposed Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare. University Press of America, Lanham, MD, 343 pp.Google Scholar
Cobb, C., Halstead, T., and Rowe, J.. 1995. If the GDP Is Up, Why Is America Down? Atlantic 276(4):59–78.Google Scholar
Costanza, R., Erickson, J., Fligger, K., Adams, A., Adams, C., Altschuler, B., Balter, S., Fisher, B., Hike, J., Kelly, J., Kerr, T., McCauley, M., Montone, K., Rauch, M., Schmiedeskamp, K., Saxton, D., Sparacino, L., Tusinski, W., and Williams, L.. 2004. Estimates of the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) for Vermont, Chittenden County and Burlington, from 1950 to 2000. Ecological Economics 51(1–2):139–155.Google Scholar
Costanza, R., Hart, M., Posner, S., and Talberth, J.. 2009. January. Beyond GDP: The Need for New Measures of Progress. Pardee Papers, no. 4, 38 pp. Available at http://www.bu.edu/pardee/files/documents/PP-004-GDP.pdf.Google Scholar
Daly, H.E. 2005. Economics in a Full World. Scientific American 293(3):100–107, Available at https://pages.wustl.edu/files/pages/imce/fazz/ad_5_2_daly.pdf.Google Scholar
Daly, H.E., and Cobb, J.B.. 1989. For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy toward Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future. Beacon Press, Boston, 482 pp.Google Scholar
Dietz, S., and Neumayer, E.. 2006. Some Constructive Criticisms of the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare. In Sustainable Development Indicators in Ecological Economics: Current Issues in Ecological Economics, P. Lawn, ed. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, England, 186–208.Google Scholar
Erickson, J.D., Zencey, E., Burke, M.J., Carlson, S., and Zimmerman, Z.. 2013, July 30. Vermont Genuine Progress Indicator 1960–2011: Findings and Recommendations. Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, University of Vermont, Burlington, 18 pp. Available at http://www.uvm.edu/giee/research/VTGPI_ExecSum_29Jul13.pdf.Google Scholar
Fisher, I. 1906. The Nature of Capital and Income. Macmillan, New York, 452 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedlander, A., Aeby, G., Brainard, R., Brown, E., Chaston, K., Clark, A., McGowan, P., Montgomery, T., Walsh, W., Williams, I., and Wiltse, W.. 2008. The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the Main Hawaiian Islands. In State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2008, J.E. Waddell and A.M. Clarke, eds. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Technical Memorandum, National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NOS NCCOS) 73. NOAA/NCCOS Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment’s Biogeography Team. Silver Spring, MD, 219–262.Google Scholar
Gingerich, S.B., and Oki, D.S.. 2000. Ground Water in Hawaii. US Geological Survey Fact Sheet 126-00. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, 6 pp. Available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2000/126/.Google Scholar
Hanley, N., Moffatt, I., Faichney, R., and Wilson, M.. 1999. Measuring Sustainability: A Time Series of Alternative Indicators for Scotland. Ecological Economics 28(1):55–73.Google Scholar
Hobbs, R.J., and Huenneke, L.F.. 1992. Disturbance, Diversity, and Invasion: Implications for Conservation. Conservation Biology 6(3):324–337.Google Scholar
INRIX. 2014. Key Findings: 2012–2013 INRIX Traffic Scorecard Annual Report. INRIX, Kirkland, WA. Available at http://www.inrix.com/scorecard/summary.asp.Google Scholar
Jackson, R.B., Banner, J.L., Jobbágy, E.G., Pockman, W.T., and Wall, D.H.. 2002. Ecosystem Carbon Loss with Woody Plant Invasion of Grasslands. Nature 418(6898):623–626.Google Scholar
Jokiel, P.L., Brown, E.K., Friedlander, A., Rodgers, S.K., and Smith, W.R.. 2004. Hawai‘i Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: Spatial Patterns and Temporal Dynamics in Reef Coral Communities. Pacific Science 58(2):159–174.Google Scholar
Konikow, L.F. 2013. Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900–2008). US Geological Survey, Reston, VA, 63 pp. Available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5079/SIR2013-5079.pdf.Google Scholar
Kubiszewski, I., Costanza, R., Franco, C., Lawn, P., Talberth, J., Jackson, T., and Aylmer, C.. 2013. Beyond GDP: Measuring and Achieving Global Genuine Progress. Ecological Economics 93:57–68.Google Scholar
Lawn, P. 2003. A Theoretical Foundation to Support the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW), Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), and Other Related Indexes. Ecological Economics 44(1):105–118.Google Scholar
Lawn, P. 2005. An Assessment of the Valuation Methods Used to Calculate the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW), Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), and Sustainable Net Benefit Index (SNBI). Environment, Development and Sustainability 7(2):185–208.Google Scholar
Lawn, P. 2013. The Failure of the ISEW and GPI to Fully Account for Changes in Human-Health Capital—A Methodological Shortcoming Not a Theoretical Weakness. Ecological Economics 88(C):167–177.Google Scholar
Lawn, P. 2014. Personal communication: Dr. Phillip Lawn, School of Economics, Flinders University of South Australia, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, 5001 Australia.Google Scholar
Lawn, P., and Clarke, M.. 2008. Sustainable Welfare in the Asia-Pacific: Studies Using the Genuine Progress Indicator. Edward Elgar, Northampton, MA, 392 pp.Google Scholar
Lofquist, D.A. 2012. October. Multigenerational Households: 2009–2011. American Community Survey Briefs. US Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 7 pp. Available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acsbr11-03.pdf.Google Scholar
McGuire, S., Posner, S., and Haake, H.. 2012. Measuring Prosperity: Maryland’s Genuine Progress Indicator. Solutions 3(2):50–58.Google Scholar
McKenzie, B., and Rapino, M.. 2011. September. Commuting in the United States: 2009. American Community Survey Reports. ACS-15. US Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 20 pp. Available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acs-15.pdf.Google Scholar
Mora, C., Frazier, A.G., Longman, R.J., Dacks, R.S., Walton, M.M., Tong, E.J., Sanchez, J.J., Kaiser, L.R., Stender, Y.O., Anderson, J.M., Ambrosino, C.M., Fernandez-Silva, I., Giuseffi, L.M., and Giambelluca, T.W.. 2013. The Projected Timing of Climate Departure from Recent Variability. Nature 502(7470):183–187.Google Scholar
National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). 2013. Hawaii. Out of Reach, pp. 58–59, Available at http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/2013-OOR-HI_0.pdf.Google Scholar
Neumayer, E. 1999. The ISEW: Not an Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare. Social Indicators Research 48(1):77–101.Google Scholar
Neumayer, E. 2000. On the Methodology of ISEW, GPI and Related Measures: Some Constructive Suggestions and Some Doubt on the ‘Threshold’ Hypothesis. Ecological Economics 34(3):347–361.Google Scholar
Nordhaus, W., and Tobin, J.. 1971. Is Growth Obsolete? Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers, No. 319. Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University, New Haven CT, 119 pp. Available at http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/cwlcwldpp/319.htm.Google Scholar
Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). 2011. Native Hawaiian Data Book 2011. OHA, Honolulu, Available at http://www.ohadatabook.com/go_newtables.11.html.Google Scholar
Pimentel, D., Harvey, C., Resosudarmo, P., Sinclair, K., Kurz, D., McNair, M., Crist, S., Shpritz, L., Fitton, L., Saffouri, R., and Blair, R.. 1995. Environmental and Economic Costs of Soil Erosion and Conservation Benefits. Science 267(5201):1117–1123, Available at http://www.cwr.uwa.edu.au/~silva/Site/Reference_files/Soil%20erosion%201995.pdf.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ponette-González, A.G., Marín-Spiotta, E., Brauman, K.A., Farley, K.A., Weathers, K.C., and Young, K.R.. 2014. Hydrologic Connectivity in the High-Elevation Tropics: Heterogeneous Responses to Land Change. BioScience 64(2):92–104.Google Scholar
Posner, S.M., and Costanza, R.. 2011. A Summary of ISEW and GPI Studies at Multiple Scales and New Estimates for Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and the State of Maryland. Ecological Economics 70(11):1972–1980.Google Scholar
Schepelmann, P., Goossens, Y., and Makipaa, A., eds. 2010. Towards Sustainable Development: Alternatives to GDP for Measuring Progress. Wuppertal Spezial 42. Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, Wuppertal, Germany, 72 pp. Available at http://wupperinst.org/en/publications/details/wi/a/s/ad/1113/.Google Scholar
State of Hawaii. 2014. Hawaii Open Data Portal. https://data.hawaii.gov/.Google Scholar
State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT). 2012a. Resident Population of Islands 1960–2010. In State of Hawaii Data Book 2012. DBEDT, Honolulu. Available at http://dbedt.hawaii.gov/economic/databook/db2012/.Google Scholar
State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT). 2012b. Table 13: Direct Income from Major Export Industries. In State of Hawaii Data Book 2012. DBEDT, Honolulu. Available at http://dbedt.hawaii.gov/economic/databook/db2012/.Google Scholar
State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT). 2012c. Table 9.59: Per Capita Direct Federal Expenditure in the United States and Hawaii, by Type 2008 to 2010. In State of Hawaii Data Book 2012. DBEDT, Honolulu. Available at http://dbedt.hawaii.gov/economic/databook/db2012/.Google Scholar
State of Hawaii Department of Labor & Industrial Relations (DLIR). 2012. September. Hawaii Labor Market Dynamics. Research and Statistics Office, DLIR, Honolulu, 20 pp. Available at http://www.doleta.gov/performance/results/AnnualReports/2011_economic_reports/hi_economic_report_py2011.pdf.Google Scholar
State of Hawaii Environmental Council. 2013. Towards a Green Economy: Introducing the GPI to Hawaii. Environmental Council 2012 Annual Report. State of Hawaii Department of Health, Honolulu, 59 pp. Available at http://health.hawaii.gov/epo/environmental-council-annual-report/.Google Scholar
State of Hawaii Environmental Council. 2014. Presenting the Genuine Progress Indicator Baseline. Environmental Council 2013 Annual Report. State of Hawaii Department of Health, Honolulu, 93 pp. Available at http://health.hawaii.gov/epo/environmental-council-annual-report/.Google Scholar
State of Hawaii Office of Planning (OP). 2014. Office of Planning. OP, Honolulu. http://planning.hawaii.gov/.Google Scholar
State of Maryland. 2010. Maryland Genuine Progress Indicator. Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis. http://www.dnr.maryland.gov/mdgpi/.Google Scholar
Stiffler, C.. 2014, January 7. Colorado’s Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI): A Comprehensive Metric of Economic Well-being in Colorado from 1960–2011. Colorado Fiscal Institute, Denver, 74 pp. Available at http://www.coloradofiscal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/GPI-Final-Paper.pdf.Google Scholar
Stiglitz, J.E., Sen, A., and Fitoussi, J.P.. 2010. Mismeasuring Our Lives: Why the GDP Doesn’t Add Up. Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress (France). New Press, New York, 136 pp.Google Scholar
Stock, J.D., Cochran, S.A., Field, M.E., Jacobi, J.D., and Tribble, G.. 2011. From Ridge to Reef—Linking Erosion and Changing Watersheds to Impacts on the Coral Reef Ecosystems of Hawai‘i and the Pacific Ocean, US Geological Survey (USGS) Fact Sheet 2011–3049. USGS Pacific Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA, 4 pp. Available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3049/.Google Scholar
Talberth, J., Cobb, C., and Slattery, N.. 2007. February, The Genuine Progress Indicator 2006: A Tool for Sustainable Development. Redefining Progress, Oakland, CA, 31 pp. Available at http://rprogress.org/publications/2007/GPI%202006.pdf.Google Scholar
Tol, R.S.J. 2005. The Marginal Damage Costs of Carbon Dioxide Emissions: An Assessment of the Uncertainties. Energy Policy 33(16):2064–2074.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO). 2014a. Population: Hawaii Statewide (Annual). UHERO, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1 p. http://www.quandl.com/UHERO/40_Y-Population-Hawaii-Statewide-annual.Google Scholar
University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO). 2014b. Major Indicator Summary, Statewide. UHERO, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1 p. http://uhero.prognoz.com/TableR.aspx.Google Scholar
US Bureau of Economic Analysis (USBEA). 2014. Coming Soon: Real Personal Income Statistics for States and Metropolitan Areas. USBEA, Washington, DC, Available at http://www.esa.doc.gov/Blog/2014/04/22/coming-soon-real-personal-income-statistics-states-and-metropolitan-areas.Google Scholar
US Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLS). 2013. May 2013. State Employment and Wage Estimates. Occupational Employment Statistics. USBLS, Washington, DC, Available at http://www.bls.gov/oes/CURRENT/oes_hi.htm.Google Scholar
US Census Bureau (USCB). 2011. Table 728: Cost of Living Index—Selected Urban Areas, Annual Average: 2010. USCB, Washington, DC, 2 pp. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0728.pdf.Google Scholar
US Census Bureau (USCB). 2014. March 27, rev. July 8. State & County QuickFacts. USCB, Washington, DC. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/15000.html.Google Scholar
US Department of Commerce (USDC). 2012. Census Briefs, Educational Attainment by Sex: 2000; and 2008–2010 American Community Survey (ACS) 3-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) Data. Census 2000 Summary File 3. USDC, Washington, DC. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_00_SF3_QTP20&prodType=table.Google Scholar
US Department of Education (USDED). 2011, November. Table 258: Residence and Migration of All First-Time Degree/Certificate-Seeking Undergraduates in Degree-Granting Institutions, by State or Jurisdiction: Fall 2010. In Digest of Education Statistics. National Center for Education Statistics, USDED, Washington, DC. Available at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_258.asp.Google Scholar
US Department of Energy (USDOE). 2014. June 19. Hawaii State Profile and Energy Estimates. Energy Information Administration, USDOE, Washington, DC. http://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.cfm?sid=HI.Google Scholar
van den Bergh, J.C.J.M. 2009. The GDP Paradox. Journal of Economic Psychology 30(2):117–135, Available at http://www.unigaia-brasil.org/pdfs/Resiliencia/van_004.pdf.Google Scholar
Vaughan, M.B., and Vitousek, P.M.. 2013. Mahele: Sustaining Communities through Small-Scale Inshore Fishery Catch and Sharing Networks [Report]. Pacific Science 67(3):329–344.Google Scholar
Weber, M., Lott, C., and Fabricius, K.E.. 2006. Sedimentation Stress in a Scleractinian Coral Exposed to Terrestrial and Marine Sediments with Contrasting Physical, Organic and Geochemical Properties. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 336(1):18–32.Google Scholar
Wen, Z., Zhang, K., Du, B., Li, Y., and Li, W.. 2007. Case Study on the Use of Genuine Progress Indicator to Measure Urban Economic Welfare in China. Ecological Economics 63(2–3):463–475.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, I.D., Walsh, W.J., Schroeder, R.E., Friedlander, A.M., Richards, B.L., and Stamoulis, K.A.. 2008. Assessing the Importance of Fishing Impacts on Hawaiian Coral Reef Fish Assemblages along Regional-Scale Human Population Gradients. Environmental Conservation 35(3):261–272.Google Scholar