The efficiency in meeting measurable sustainable development goals

Abstract

The recent challenges of the contemporary world have brought into question the long-term sustainability of human activities. In 2015, all the countries of the UN General Assembly made a commitment to promote sustainability in the Agenda 2030, which introduced a worldwide concept of 17 main goals in achieving sustainable development-Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To become successful in meeting the SDGs, the necessity of measuring, evaluating and controlling the goals emerges. The aim of our study is to enrich this area of research by introducing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) into the assessment of the level of the SDGs achievement and the measurement of the countries' progress. We apply the DEA to compute the relative efficiency of the individual countries in fulfilling their commitment. The best performers that we identify are Finland, Japan and Iceland. Next, we estimate a year in which the individual countries may be able to achieve the SDGs if they continue with their current strategies. Following the actual pace of the improvements, we find that only five countries are on track to become relatively efficient by or around 2030.

Progress by Research to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the EU: A Systematic Literature Review

“…A combinatorial approach between DEA and AutoML (Automated Machine Learning) was used for the attainment prediction of SDGs at a country level [110]. In [152] the authors used DEA to assess the efficiency in meeting SDGs in 2019 for all countries. Nine thematic workshops were held, involving 89 Ministry officials, to discuss the prioritization of SDG targets and detect factors of success and limitation of mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda in a Spanish context [111].…”

From Pre-Pandemic to Post-Pandemic Struggles to Meet Sustainable Development Goals

“…As such, to support a holistic approach to sustainable development emerging economies must be supported, especially in the pursuit of the SDGs (Min & Perucci, 2020;Odey et al, 2021). Grochová and Litzman (2021) calculated an efficiency score to evaluate 172 countries' SDG progress toward 2030. Pre-pandemic, the general movement toward the SDGs was positive for 2019, but for the majority of the countries, the magnitude of the movement was negligible and changes for developing nations were behind the rest of the world.…”

“…Pre-pandemic, the general movement toward the SDGs was positive for 2019, but for the majority of the countries, the magnitude of the movement was negligible and changes for developing nations were behind the rest of the world. Finland is expected to meet the SDGs by 2021, followed by Singapore (2023), Iceland (2026), and Slovenia (2028) (Grochová & Litzman, 2021). Other 134 countries will not reach the goals by the end of the century with 69 of these being developed high-income or upper-middle-income countries.…”

A Web-Based Program About Sustainable Development Goals Focusing on Digital Learning, Digital Health Literacy, and Nutrition for Professional Development in Ethiopia and Rwanda: Development of a Pedagogical Method

“…At the same time, East African countries have limited resources to address these problems [ 3 ], including a shortage of nutrition experts and health care workers [ 4 , 5 ], limited access to infrastructure, and a shortage of advanced educational programs and continuing professional development [ 4 ]. The SDGs were introduced to “achieve a better and sustainable future for all” [ 6 ]. To achieve the SDGs in general, good health and well-being (goal 3) and quality education (goal 4) in particular, effective education initiatives are needed [ 7 ].…”