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Measuring countries’ progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: methodology and challenges

Author

Listed:
  • Michal Shinwell

    (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Statistics and Data Directorate)

  • Guillaume Cohen

    (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Statistics and Data Directorate)

Abstract

The 2030 Agenda, adopted by countries in 2015, sets a broad and ambitious set of targets to be achieved by 2030, covering social, environmental and economic issues. With 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 targets and 244 indicators, it presents a complex data landscape to navigate. With targets ranging from abstract to definite and quantifiable, ambitious to achieved, countries need to understand how they can measure their performance and what progress is needed. We present a methodology for measuring the distance countries must cover in order to reach the targets by 2030, using publicly available data from official sources (UN and OECD databases). The methodology allows comparison of performance across goals, targets and indicators, and can provide a basis for further analysis, such as disaggregation, performance over time and forecasting achievements.

Suggested Citation

  • Michal Shinwell & Guillaume Cohen, 2020. "Measuring countries’ progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: methodology and challenges," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 167-182, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:eaiere:v:17:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s40844-019-00132-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s40844-019-00132-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. United Nations, 2016. "The Sustainable Development Goals 2016," Working Papers id:11456, eSocialSciences.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mehmet Çağlar & Cem Gürler, 2022. "Sustainable Development Goals: A cluster analysis of worldwide countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 8593-8624, June.
    2. Yuichi Ikeda, 2020. "Special issue: the 7th international symposium on human survivability “let’s work together toward achieving the sustainable development goals”—part II," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 469-471, July.
    3. Graham Long & Jecel Censoro & Katharina Rietig, 2023. "The sustainable development goals: governing by goals, targets and indicators," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 149-156, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sustainable Development Goals; z-score normalisation; Target setting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • F53 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods

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