Efficiency evaluation of sustainable development in BRICS and G7 countries: a Data Envelopment Analysis approach

Abstract

In order to measure the impact of the economic growth over the years, the sustainable development concept works to balance three pillars of sustainability - economic, social and environmental. This paper has the objective to compare emerging countries (BRICS) with the most developed countries (G7) by analysing sustainable development. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used, thorugh the variant SBM (Slacks Based Measured) model. The inputs were CO2 emission, percentage of unemployed and energy utilization. GDP and life expectancy at birth were used as outputs. The main result was a global average efficency ranking, having the emerging countries in top positions (India, China and Brazil, respectively). In addition, emerging countries have always stood out in the average of the slacks of each analyzed variable. These results are important in terms of being useful for public policies related to sustainable development, especially: (1) to contribute to the discussions related to evaluating the countries, helping to identify those with the best practices with regard to environmental, social and economic aspects in each group; and (2) to guide policy decisions regarding government incentives to promote the development of efficient countries in terms of economic growth and welfare social without harming the environment.

Sustainable development efficiency and its influencing factors across BRICS and G7 countries: An empirical comparison

“…Consequently, economic warnings, financial crises, energy shortages, and environmental catastrophes were almost exclusively issued by wealthier countries such as the G7 to the rest of the developing countries across the world. However, in recent years, rising powers such as the BRICS have grown increasingly strong in terms of energy intensity (Chiu et al, 2022), energy usage (Chang and Hu, 2019), global average efficiency (Camioto and Pulita, 2022), developing economic potential (Mostafa and Mahmood, 2015), natural resources (Nistor, 2015), innovation (Gautam and Sharan, 2019), and international affairs. They are gaining economic power and are substantially wealthier than previously.…”

“…Consequently, economic development and environmental construction should be synchronized, and the economic benefits, ecological benefits and social benefits should be consolidated to ensure the implementation of the sustainable development strategy (See Figure 1 below). According to recent studies, research on sustainable development is at an all-time high, which helps in reducing the impact on the environment and achieving long-term low-carbon economic growth (Parris and Kates, 2003;Barykina et al, 2022;Camioto and Pulita, 2022). A sustainable development strategy must achieve at least two objectives, namely, zero growth in energy consumption and zero growth in ecological degradation.…”