Democracy, development, capitalism and the ecological footprint: an analysis of indicators, a global perspective

Abstract

This research will address and examine the role of democracy, development and capitalism in global ecological resource consumption. I will explore these three characteristics to determine whether or not any can be considered indicators of environmental performance. Furthermore I will discuss the various theories currently being conceived and expanded upon in the emergent issue that is environmental sustainability. The purpose of this research is to address the following questions: Question 1: Are there any specific, individual variables that indicate a country will have a high ecological footprint? Question 2: Are countries that are democratized likely to have a higher ecological footprint or a lower ecological footprint? Question 3: Are countries that are highly developed likely to have a higher or lower ecological footprint? Question 4: Does a country’s Gross Domestic Product indicate a country will have a higher or lower ecological footprint? Due to the infancy of this research there are limited statistics available. To further analyze this data and determine if an exact correlation between any of the individual variables exists requires a higher level of research. In order to do this I must create a database which includes each variable as well as the corresponding statistical data, which I have collected independently. My results were largely consistent with my expectations. A bivariate correlation test proved that there are consistent correlations between all three independent variables in conjunction with my independent variable. Additionally, more extensive tests and results are discussed within my presentation.