IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v33y2025i4p5336-5350.html

Understanding the Factors Influencing SDG Achievement Across Nations: A Comprehensive Study

Author

Listed:
  • María‐Dolores Guillamón
  • Ana‐María Ríos
  • Bernardino Benito

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a framework for addressing global challenges and building a more equitable and sustainable future for all. Governments must coordinate to achieve the SDGs, addressing capacity and resource constraints, as well as political, institutional, and socio‐economic barriers. In this context, this study examines the determinants affecting the achievement of the SDGs in 83 countries from 2016 to 2021, using data from the UN's Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Through panel data analysis and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation, the study identifies significant factors influencing SDG achievement. The results show that higher income levels, education, and previous compliance with the SDGs positively impact SDG performance. In addition, increased percentages of women in parliament are associated with better SDG outcomes. Conversely, higher unemployment rates and lower deficits are associated with lower SDG scores. These findings underscore the importance of these factors in driving progress toward global sustainability goals.

Suggested Citation

  • María‐Dolores Guillamón & Ana‐María Ríos & Bernardino Benito, 2025. "Understanding the Factors Influencing SDG Achievement Across Nations: A Comprehensive Study," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 5336-5350, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:4:p:5336-5350
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.3405
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3405
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.3405?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jason Phillips, 2021. "The application of the Geocybernetic Assessment Matrix to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 7550-7572, May.
    2. Alex Baumber, 2022. "Transforming sustainability education through transdisciplinary practice," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 7622-7639, June.
    3. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    4. Francesca Manes‐Rossi & Giuseppe Nicolo', 2022. "Exploring sustainable development goals reporting practices: From symbolic to substantive approaches—Evidence from the energy sector," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1799-1815, September.
    5. Chong‐Wen Chen, 2024. "Who wins and who loses in global SDGs rankings? Clarifying the influence of the North‐South divide and foreign direct investment on spillover effects," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 2653-2665, June.
    6. Odeh Al-Jayyousi & Hira Amin & Hiba Ali Al-Saudi & Amjaad Aljassas & Evren Tok, 2023. "Mission-Oriented Innovation Policy for Sustainable Development: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-21, August.
    7. Rosa Puertas & Luisa Marti, 2023. "Regional analysis of the sustainable development of two Mediterranean countries: Spain and Italy," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 797-811, April.
    8. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    9. Dragisa Stanujkic & Gabrijela Popovic & Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas & Darjan Karabasevic & Arune Binkyte-Veliene, 2020. "Assessment of Progress towards Achieving Sustainable Development Goals of the “Agenda 2030” by Using the CoCoSo and the Shannon Entropy Methods: The Case of the EU Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-19, July.
    10. Hoon Park & Clifford Russell & Junsoo Lee, 2007. "National culture and environmental sustainability: A cross-national analysis," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 31(1), pages 104-121, March.
    11. Carmelo Reverte, 2022. "The importance of institutional differences among countries in SDGs achievement: A cross‐country empirical study," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1882-1899, December.
    12. Cristina Alexandrina Stefanescu, 2021. "Linking sustainability reporting frameworks and sustainable development goals," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(4), pages 508-525, November.
    13. Cristina Ciocirlan & Caroline Pettersson, 2012. "Does Workforce Diversity Matter in the Fight against Climate Change? An Analysis of Fortune 500 Companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(1), pages 47-62, January.
    14. Lucas Chancel & Alex Hough & Tancrède Voituriez, 2018. "Reducing Inequalities within Countries: Assessing the Potential of the Sustainable Development Goals," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 9(1), pages 5-16, February.
    15. Stijn Claessens & Joseph P. H. Fan, 2002. "Corporate Governance in Asia: A Survey," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 3(2), pages 71-103, June.
    16. Maryna Henrysson & Ranjula Bali Swain & Ashok Swain & Francesco Fuso Nerini, 2024. "Sustainable Development Goals and wellbeing for resilient societies: shocks and recovery," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    17. Justas Streimikis & Tomas Baležentis, 2020. "Agricultural sustainability assessment framework integrating sustainable development goals and interlinked priorities of environmental, climate and agriculture policies," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 1702-1712, November.
    18. Nouriel Roubini & Jeffrey Sachs, 1989. "Government Spending and Budget Deficits in the Industrial Economies," NBER Working Papers 2919, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Nafila Dwi Mutiarani & Dodik Siswantoro, 2020. "The impact of local government characteristics on the accomplishment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 1847751-184, January.
    20. Kalpana Mathur & Akanksha Berwa, 2017. "Sustainable competitiveness: redefining the future with technology and innovation," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 290-306, July.
    21. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    22. Luisa Marti & Roberto Cervelló‐Royo, 2023. "Disparities in sustainable development goals compliance and their association with country risk," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(4), pages 3038-3051, August.
    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. Sahu, Muskan & Mishra, Anisha & Alahdal, Waleed M. & Sami, Mina, 2025. "ESG performance and audit committee expertise: advancing sustainable development goals in leading nations," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).

    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. Carmelo Reverte, 2022. "The importance of institutional differences among countries in SDGs achievement: A cross‐country empirical study," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1882-1899, December.
    2. Rosa Puertas & Luisa Marti, 2023. "Regional analysis of the sustainable development of two Mediterranean countries: Spain and Italy," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 797-811, April.
    3. Bernardino Benito & María‐Dolores Guillamón & Ana‐María Ríos & Javier Cifuentes‐Faura, 2025. "The relationship between culture and sustainable development goal compliance at the municipal level," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 333-348, February.
    4. Luisa Marti & Roberto Cervelló‐Royo, 2023. "Disparities in sustainable development goals compliance and their association with country risk," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(4), pages 3038-3051, August.
    5. Donatella Saccone, 2021. "Can the Covid19 pandemic affect the achievement of the ‘Zero Hunger’ goal? Some preliminary reflections," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(7), pages 1025-1038, September.
    6. Chinn, Menzie & Ito, Hiro, 2025. "Current account dynamics and saving-investment nexus in a changing and uncertain world," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    7. Sami Jarboui, 2022. "Operational and environmental efficiency of U.S. oil and gas companies towards energy transition policies: A comparative empirical analysis," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(2), pages 234-257, June.
    8. Disli, Mustafa & Ng, Adam & Askari, Hossein, 2016. "Culture, income, and CO2 emission," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 418-428.
    9. Mfouapon Alassa & Mongbet Zounkifirou, 2026. "The dynamic analysis of political liberalization effect on agricultural foreign aid in Africa," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 6(2), pages 1-42, February.
    10. Aws AlHares, 2025. "Ethical Leadership and Its Impact on Corporate Sustainability and Financial Performance: The Role of Alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-26, July.
    11. Mazhar Mughal & Charlotte Fontan Sers, 2020. "Cereal production, undernourishment, and food insecurity in South Asia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 524-545, May.
    12. Ọláyínká Oyèkọ́lá, 2023. "Democracy Does Improve Health," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 166(1), pages 105-132, February.
    13. Nicola Raimo & Vitiana L'Abate & Arcangelo Marrone & Filippo Vitolla, 2025. "Toward sustainable cities: Assessing drivers of SDG performance in Italian municipalities," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 554-564, February.
    14. Adugna, Hailu, 2024. "Fintech dividend: How would digital financial services impact income inequality across countries?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    15. Caixe, Daniel Ferreira & Kalatzis, Aquiles Elie Guimarães & Castro, Luiz Ricardo Kabbach de, 2019. "Controlling shareholders and investment-risk sensitivity in an emerging economy," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 133-153.
    16. Farzan Yahya & Li Meiling & Chien‐Chiang Lee & Muhammad Waqas & Zhang Shaohua, 2022. "Gender diversity, sustainability reporting, CEO overconfidence, and efficient risk‐taking: Evidence from South Asian agri‐food industry," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 70(3), pages 219-238, September.
    17. Erdinc Telatar & Funda Telatar & Tarkan Cavusoglu & Umur Tosun, 2010. "Political instability, political freedom and inflation," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(30), pages 3839-3847.
    18. García-Meca, Emma & Martínez-Ferrero, Jennifer & Reverte, Carmelo, 2025. "The impact of European firms’ emissions reduction effectiveness on financial constraints: Evidence from the quintuple helix model perspective," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    19. Benedetta Valeria Cannizzaro & Rodolfo Damiano & Marcantonio Ruisi, 2026. "Talking out loud on sustainable development goals (SDGs): what is the role of sustainability performance and national culture within CEO-speak?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 30(1), pages 305-335, March.
    20. Daniel Ştefan Armeanu & Georgeta Vintilă & Ştefan Cristian Gherghina, 2017. "Empirical Study towards the Drivers of Sustainable Economic Growth in EU-28 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-22, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:4:p:5336-5350. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    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.