Version 1
: Received: 29 July 2024 / Approved: 29 July 2024 / Online: 30 July 2024 (07:23:01 CEST)
How to cite:
Detrinidad, E.; Lopez Ruiz, V. R. The Interplay of Happiness and Sustainability: A Multidimensional Scaling and K-means Cluster Approach. Preprints2024, 2024072349. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2349.v1
Detrinidad, E.; Lopez Ruiz, V. R. The Interplay of Happiness and Sustainability: A Multidimensional Scaling and K-means Cluster Approach. Preprints 2024, 2024072349. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2349.v1
Detrinidad, E.; Lopez Ruiz, V. R. The Interplay of Happiness and Sustainability: A Multidimensional Scaling and K-means Cluster Approach. Preprints2024, 2024072349. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2349.v1
APA Style
Detrinidad, E., & Lopez Ruiz, V. R. (2024). The Interplay of Happiness and Sustainability: A Multidimensional Scaling and K-means Cluster Approach. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2349.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Detrinidad, E. and Victor Raul Lopez Ruiz. 2024 "The Interplay of Happiness and Sustainability: A Multidimensional Scaling and K-means Cluster Approach" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2349.v1
Abstract
This study investigates the intricate relationships between happiness, sustainability, and cultural values across 74 countries. Utilizing a multidimensional scaling (MDS) and K-means clustering approach, we analyze six happiness indices alongside the Sustainable Development Goals Index (SDGI). Our findings indicate a positive correlation between economic development, social progress, and elevated levels of both happiness and sustainability. Nevertheless, instances like the United States highlight the necessity of alternative methodologies, highlining classification of nonlinear models.
The MDS analysis identifies four distinct clusters of countries, each demonstrating similar profiles in terms of happiness, sustainability, and cultural values, as per Inglehart's framework. This clustering underscores the necessity for a comprehensive perspective that integrates economic, social, and cultural dimensions to produce robust results and mitigate disparities or contradictions in subjective measures like the World Happiness Score.
Future research should explore the impact of institutional frameworks, governance models, and social capital. Additionally, longitudinal studies are needed to examine how these relationships evolve in response to global challenges. We acknowledge the limitations related to data heterogeneity, the subjectivity of cluster analysis, and the exclusion of outliers, emphasizing the need for further research to enhance the generalizability and robustness of these findings.
Keywords
Happiness, Sustainability, Cultural values, Multidimensional scaling (MDS) K-means clustering, Happiness indices, Sustainable Development Goals Index (SDGI)
Subject
Business, Economics and Management, Econometrics and Statistics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
