Hierarchical Clustering Based on International Sustainability Indices of EU Countries

Abstract

The presented paper focuses on the possibility to group countries by the cluster method in terms of assessing the sustainable competitiveness of European countries. Our calculation is based on HDI (Human Development Index) and EPI (Environmental Performance Index) indices. We also tried to show the differences in HDI and EPI index of the Slovak Republic and the Netherlands. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the global competitiveness regarding the environmental economics model, considering all three levels: economic, social, and environmental. We measure the socio-economic dimension using HDI according to the health and education areas, then we measure the environmental dimension using EPI, which monitors the behaviour of countries in the field of human health protection and ecosystem protection. Our question is whether there is an appropriate classification for the development of these countries that could help to reduce the differences between the average countries and the EU 27 average. The approach to this topic began with the question whether these countries, which have high values of economic growth, have a high level of EPI or HDI. The intention is to look for the possible existence of a gradual rapprochement of countries belonging to the same group.