Is global human well-being peaking?

We undertook multiple individual country time trend analyses using post 1990 data and estimated that real GDP per capita and life expectancy at birth, together, are projected to have peaked before 2050 for about two-thirds of the world’s population and at levels far below their current values in upp...

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Main Authors: Grafton, R. Q., Chu, L., Kompas, T., Fanaian, Safa
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179574
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author Grafton, R. Q.
Chu, L.
Kompas, T.
Fanaian, Safa
author_browse Chu, L.
Fanaian, Safa
Grafton, R. Q.
Kompas, T.
author_facet Grafton, R. Q.
Chu, L.
Kompas, T.
Fanaian, Safa
author_sort Grafton, R. Q.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description We undertook multiple individual country time trend analyses using post 1990 data and estimated that real GDP per capita and life expectancy at birth, together, are projected to have peaked before 2050 for about two-thirds of the world’s population and at levels far below their current values in upper high-income countries. We found there are ‘flourishing’ countries where human well-being is already high and will likely increase, but a much larger group of ‘languishing’ countries where human well-being has peaked, or will likely peak, before 2050. We estimated a positive time-series association between real per capita income and broader composite (e.g. Human Development Index) well-being indicators, but this association diminishes in the level of real per capita income. A mitigation response to peaking average global human well-being is cross-country monetary transfers from higher- to lower-income countries. Thus, we calculated two possible global transfers: one equal to 1.3 trillion/year USD in total and an alternative based on the projected climate change damage to low to middle-income countries. Each global transfer would impose only a relatively small proportional cost on the national income of contributing countries but could provide very large average human well-being benefits to the poor and most vulnerable in low-income countries.
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spelling CGSpace1795742026-01-14T05:43:44Z Is global human well-being peaking? Grafton, R. Q. Chu, L. Kompas, T. Fanaian, Safa welfare sustainability climate change financial policies vulnerability We undertook multiple individual country time trend analyses using post 1990 data and estimated that real GDP per capita and life expectancy at birth, together, are projected to have peaked before 2050 for about two-thirds of the world’s population and at levels far below their current values in upper high-income countries. We found there are ‘flourishing’ countries where human well-being is already high and will likely increase, but a much larger group of ‘languishing’ countries where human well-being has peaked, or will likely peak, before 2050. We estimated a positive time-series association between real per capita income and broader composite (e.g. Human Development Index) well-being indicators, but this association diminishes in the level of real per capita income. A mitigation response to peaking average global human well-being is cross-country monetary transfers from higher- to lower-income countries. Thus, we calculated two possible global transfers: one equal to 1.3 trillion/year USD in total and an alternative based on the projected climate change damage to low to middle-income countries. Each global transfer would impose only a relatively small proportional cost on the national income of contributing countries but could provide very large average human well-being benefits to the poor and most vulnerable in low-income countries. 2025-12-20 2026-01-09T05:59:28Z 2026-01-09T05:59:28Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179574 en Open Access Elsevier Grafton, R. Q.; Chu, L.; Kompas, T.; Fanaian, S. 2025. Is global human well-being peaking? World Development Sustainability, 8:100265. (Online first). doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wds.2025.100265
spellingShingle welfare
sustainability
climate change
financial policies
vulnerability
Grafton, R. Q.
Chu, L.
Kompas, T.
Fanaian, Safa
Is global human well-being peaking?
title Is global human well-being peaking?
title_full Is global human well-being peaking?
title_fullStr Is global human well-being peaking?
title_full_unstemmed Is global human well-being peaking?
title_short Is global human well-being peaking?
title_sort is global human well being peaking
topic welfare
sustainability
climate change
financial policies
vulnerability
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179574
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