IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i13p5427-d380696.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Inclusive Economic Sustainability: SDGs and Global Inequality

Author

Listed:
  • Arno J. van Niekerk

    (Department of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa)

Abstract

In view of the 2020 global health crisis and its repercussions on the global economy, the need to redirect conventional economic thinking towards securing global economic sustainability is most critical. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a significant move in this direction. However, in the past few years, a clearer understanding of inclusive economics and sustainability indicators have progressed our ability to reduce economic exclusion, chiefly represented by global inequality. Collective wellbeing within the “global village” is shaped largely by these avenues/directions, thus presenting the question: can an improved combination of sustainability priorities be identified that would substantially enhance countries’ adoption of the SDGs? New, inclusive paths to economic progress are essential to a world economy in crisis recovery mode. The aim of the paper is to qualitatively identify key indicators from these different directions to, collectively, address some of the most significant drivers of global inequality, thus improving the adoption rate of the SDGs. As its main contribution, the study found that for economic inclusivity to realistically reduce global inequality its full integration into three areas is necessary: business models, public policy and community development. This should also be supported by “social covenants” to facilitate improved SDG adoption by countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Arno J. van Niekerk, 2020. "Inclusive Economic Sustainability: SDGs and Global Inequality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-19, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:13:p:5427-:d:380696
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/13/5427/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/13/5427/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. François Bourguignon, 2015. "The Globalization of Inequality," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10433.
    2. Sen, Amartya, 2001. "Development as Freedom," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192893307.
    3. Long, Xianling & Ji, Xi, 2019. "Economic Growth Quality, Environmental Sustainability, and Social Welfare in China - Provincial Assessment Based on Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 157-176.
    4. J. Allister McGregor & Nicky Pouw, 2017. "Towards an economics of well-being," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 41(4), pages 1123-1142.
    5. Heidhues, Franz & Obare, Gideon A., 2011. "Lessons from Structural Adjustment Programmes and their Effects in Africa," Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, Humboldt-Universitaat zu Berlin, vol. 50(1), pages 1-10, February.
    6. Facundo Alvaredo & Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez & Lucas Chancel & Gabriel Zucman, 2018. "World Inequality Report 2018," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-01885458, HAL.
    7. repec:ilo:ilowps:370985 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Claudio O. Delang, 2016. "Development beyond growth: Singapore's genuine progress, 1968-2014," International Journal of Green Economics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 10(1), pages 32-50.
    9. Günseli BERIK, 2020. "Measuring what matters and guiding policy: An evaluation of the Genuine Progress Indicator," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 159(1), pages 71-94, March.
    10. Sachs, Ignacy., 2004. "Inclusive development strategy in an era of globalization," ILO Working Papers 993709853402676, International Labour Organization.
    11. Trevor Zink & Roland Geyer, 2017. "Circular Economy Rebound," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 593-602, June.
    12. Daniel Francisco Pais & Tiago Lopes Afonso & Ant nio Cardoso Marques & Jos A Fuinhas, 2019. "Are Economic Growth and Sustainable Development Converging? Evidence from the Comparable Genuine Progress Indicator for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Countries," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 9(4), pages 202-213.
    13. Joyeeta Gupta & Nicky R M Pouw & Mirjam A F Ros-Tonen, 2015. "Towards an Elaborated Theory of Inclusive Development," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 27(4), pages 541-559, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Oluyomi A. Osobajo & Adekunle Oke & Ama Lawani & Temitope S. Omotayo & Nkeiruka Ndubuka-McCallum & Lovelin Obi, 2022. "Providing a Roadmap for Future Research Agenda: A Bibliometric Literature Review of Sustainability Performance Reporting (SPR)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-20, July.
    2. Yiwen Zeng & Rebecca K. Runting & James E. M. Watson & Luis Roman Carrasco, 2022. "Telecoupled environmental impacts are an obstacle to meeting the sustainable development goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 76-82, February.
    3. Batara Surya & Seri Suriani & Firman Menne & Herminawaty Abubakar & Muhammad Idris & Emil Salim Rasyidi & Hasanuddin Remmang, 2021. "Community Empowerment and Utilization of Renewable Energy: Entrepreneurial Perspective for Community Resilience Based on Sustainable Management of Slum Settlements in Makassar City, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-36, March.
    4. Wayne Moodaley & Arnesh Telukdarie, 2023. "Greenwashing, Sustainability Reporting, and Artificial Intelligence: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-25, January.
    5. Batara Surya & Agus Salim & Seri Suriani & Firman Menne & Emil Salim Rasyidi, 2021. "Economic Growth and Development of a Minapolitan Area Based on the Utilization of Renewable Energy, Takalar Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(5), pages 255-274.
    6. Giovanna Centorrino, 2020. "Covid-19 and the Search for the Common Good: The Case of Parmon Spa (Italy)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-23, August.
    7. Yan Mei & Jingyi Miao & Yuhui Lu, 2022. "Digital Villages Construction Accelerates High-Quality Economic Development in Rural China through Promoting Digital Entrepreneurship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-29, October.
    8. Yu Jin Chang & Jae Wook Yoo, 2023. "When CSR Matters: The Moderating Effect of Industrial Growth Rate on the Relationship between CSR and Firm Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-13, September.
    9. Marleen Dekker & Nicky Pouw, 2022. "Introduction to the Special Issue: Policies for Inclusive Development in Africa," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(5), pages 2137-2155, October.
    10. Rashmi Umesh Arora & Tapan Sarker, 2023. "Financing for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(1), pages 1-19, February.
    11. Kozar Łukasz, 2021. "Non-Monetary Indicators of Social Exclusion – A Multidimensional Comparative Analysis of the Eu-10 Countries," Econometrics. Advances in Applied Data Analysis, Sciendo, vol. 25(4), pages 40-53, December.
    12. Yeboah, Samuel, 2023. "Balancing Growth and Green: Strategies for Sustainable Development in Developing Economies," MPRA Paper 118180, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 20 Jun 2023.
    13. Whisper Maisiri & Liezl van Dyk & Rojanette Coeztee, 2021. "Factors that Inhibit Sustainable Adoption of Industry 4.0 in the South African Manufacturing Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-21, January.
    14. Kamran Hameed & Khuram Shahzad & Naveed Yazdani, 2023. "Global Incidences of Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Conceptualization and Measurement Framework," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(4), pages 5033-5064, December.
    15. Batara Surya & Andi Muhibuddin & Seri Suriani & Emil Salim Rasyidi & Baharuddin Baharuddin & Andi Tenri Fitriyah & Herminawaty Abubakar, 2021. "Economic Evaluation, Use of Renewable Energy, and Sustainable Urban Development Mamminasata Metropolitan, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-45, January.
    16. Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka, 2023. "Pharmaceutical Companies in the Light of the Idea of Sustainable Development—An Analysis of Selected Aspects of Sustainable Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-23, May.
    17. Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka & Hubert Gąsiński & Joanna Rogozińska-Mitrut & Dariusz Soboń & Sebastian Zupok, 2023. "Review of Selected Aspects of Wind Energy Market Development in Poland and Lithuania in the Face of Current Challenges," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-17, January.
    18. Yasanur Kayikci & Yigit Kazancoglu & Nazlican Gozacan‐Chase & Cisem Lafci, 2022. "Analyzing the drivers of smart sustainable circular supply chain for sustainable development goals through stakeholder theory," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3335-3353, November.
    19. Rahcmad Budi Suharto & Eny Rochaida & Juliansyah Roy & Meiki Permana, 2021. "Analysis of Inclusive Economic Development of Environmental Quality in Indonesia by Examining Environmental Kuznets Curve," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(4), pages 225-229.
    20. Hui Zou & Xiaohua Ma, 2021. "Identifying resource and environmental carrying capacity in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China: the perspectives of spatial differences and sustainable development," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(10), pages 14775-14798, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rory Horner, 2017. "What is global development," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 202017, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    2. Hager, Sandy Brian, 2020. "Varieties of Top Incomes," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 18(4), pages 1175-1198.
    3. V. K. Shrotryia & Shashank Vikram Pratap Singh, 2020. "Measuring Progress Beyond GDP: A Theoretical Perspective," Emerging Economy Studies, International Management Institute, vol. 6(2), pages 143-165, November.
    4. Zabsonre Zacharia & Boukary Ouedraogo, 2023. "Influence of tax structures on income inequality in WAEMU countries [Influences des structures fiscales sur l'inégalité de revenus dans les pays de l'UEMOA]," Post-Print hal-04188709, HAL.
    5. Purvis, Ben & Genovese, Andrea, 2023. "Better or different? A reflection on the suitability of indicator methods for a just transition to a circular economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    6. Khadija Straaten & Niccolò Pisani & Ans Kolk, 2020. "Unraveling the MNE wage premium," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(9), pages 1355-1390, December.
    7. Ranjan Ray & Parvin Singh, 2019. "Income Inequality in an Era of Globalisation: The Perils of Taking a Global View," Monash Economics Working Papers 08-19, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    8. Lazarus, Elias & Brown, Clair, 2022. "Improving the genuine progress indicator to measure comparable net welfare: U.S. and California, 1995–2017," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    9. Narula, Rajneesh & Van der Straaten, Khadija, 2019. "A comment on the multifaceted relationship between multinational enterprises and within-country inequality," MERIT Working Papers 2019-035, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    10. James Wangu & Ellen Mangnus & A.C.M. (Guus) van Westen, 2020. "Limitations of Inclusive Agribusiness in Contributing to Food and Nutrition Security in a Smallholder Community. A Case of Mango Initiative in Makueni County, Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-23, July.
    11. Palma, J. G., 2019. "Why is inequality so unequal across the world? Part 1. The diversity of inequality in disposable income: multiplicity of fundamentals, or complex interactions between political settlements and market ," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1999, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    12. Sven Resnjanskij & Jens Ruhose & Simon Wiederhold & Ludger Wößmann, 2021. "Mentoring Improves the Labor-Market Prospects of Highly Disadvantaged Adolescents," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 74(02), pages 31-38, February.
    13. Thomas Blanchet & Lucas Chancel & Amory Gethin, 2019. "How Unequal is Europe? Evidence from Distributional National Accounts, 1980-2017," World Inequality Lab Working Papers hal-02877000, HAL.
    14. Lucas Chancel & Thomas Piketty, 2019. "Indian Income Inequality, 1922‐2015: From British Raj to Billionaire Raj?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 65(S1), pages 33-62, November.
    15. Tendai Zawaira & Matthew W. Clance & Carolyn Chisadza, 2020. "Social Institutions and Gender-Biased Outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 2020101, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    16. Francisco H G Ferreira & Sergio P Firpo & Julián Messina, 2022. "Labor Market Experience and Falling Earnings Inequality in Brazil: 1995–2012," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 36(1), pages 37-67.
    17. Chen Yu, 2020. "Targeted industrial poverty alleviation in China’s Rural Areas: Evidence From Yulin Township," Journal of Advances in Humanities and Social Sciences, Dr. Yi-Hsing Hsieh, vol. 6(2), pages 78-88.
    18. Emmanuel Anyigbah & Yusheng Kong & Bless Kofi Edziah & Ahotovi Thomas Ahoto & Wilhelmina Seyome Ahiaku, 2023. "Board Characteristics and Corporate Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-26, February.
    19. Patel, Dev & Sandefur, Justin & Subramanian, Arvind, 2021. "The new era of unconditional convergence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    20. Christoph Dörffel & Sebastian Schuhmann, 2020. "What is Inclusive Development? Introducing the Multidimensional Inclusiveness Index," Jena Economics Research Papers 2020-015, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:13:p:5427-:d:380696. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.