Evaluation of sustainable happiness with Sustainable Development Goals: Structural equation model approach

Abstract

The concept of sustainable development has become the focal point of modern debates. The purpose of sustainable development is to improve the quality of life of people of the world. It could only be possible to talk about sustainable welfare and happiness for all when and if we achieve sustainable development. In 2015, the United Nations developed the Sustainable Development Goals. In order to ensure the welfare and happiness of countries in the future, it is argued that these objectives should be achieved. In this study, it has been investigated whether the dimensions of sustainable development are effective in explaining the sustainable happiness that provides welfare and life satisfaction. For example, does economic freedom also lead to higher levels of happiness? Do environmental impacts have a direct impact on happiness beyond the effects on human health? Can social sustainability bring satisfaction to happiness in society? In this context, three dimensions of sustainable development were analyzed with respect to sustainable happiness by using the structural equation model. According to the analysis results, it was found that the environmental dimension of sustainable development has a positive correlation with sustainable happiness. Furthermore, another finding was that improvements in social sustainability have a positive effect on sustainable happiness. On the other hand, there were no statistically significant correlations between the economic dimension and sustainable happiness. The results support previous work and emphasize that sustainable development should be taken into account clearly to ensure sustainable happiness.