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An analytical framework for identifying optimal pathways towards sustainable development

Author

Listed:
  • Jaebeum Cho

    (Cornell University)

  • Alberto Isgut

    (Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development Division, ESCAP)

  • Yusuke Tateno

    (Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development Division, ESCAP)

Abstract

The freedom accorded to governments on how to achieve the ambitious and holistic 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development raises the critical issue of how countries should adapt the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level. This paper presents an analytical framework that merges methods from complexity science with economic analyses to address this issue of adaptation. The proposed framework 1) highlights the interlinkages, including complementarities, synergies and trade-offs across different Goals, 2) measures the country’s capacities to achieve the Goals, and 3) identifies optimal pathways for progress towards sustainable development. Using Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, and Fiji as examples, the derived pathways for progress are seen to align well with traditional development theory. However, the paths are reflective of the specific circumstances of each country, which in turn dictates their development paths. Overall, the framework provides a guidebook that may inform national deliberations on the adaptation by proposing pathways for progress that take into account interdependencies across different sectors as well as countries’ unique circumstances.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaebeum Cho & Alberto Isgut & Yusuke Tateno, 2016. "An analytical framework for identifying optimal pathways towards sustainable development," MPDD Working Paper Series WP/16/03, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
    • Handle: RePEc:unt:wpmpdd:wp/16/03
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    File URL: http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/publications/WP-16-03_Analytical%20framework_21june.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Arthur, W Brian, 1991. "Designing Economic Agents that Act Like Human Agents: A Behavioral Approach to Bounded Rationality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(2), pages 353-359, May.
    2. Ronald H. Coase, 2000. "The new institutional economics," Chapters, in: Claude Ménard (ed.), Institutions, Contracts and Organizations, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Cesar A. Hidalgo & Ricardo Hausmann, 2009. "The Building Blocks of Economic Complexity," Papers 0909.3890, arXiv.org.
    4. C. A. Hidalgo & B. Klinger & A. -L. Barabasi & R. Hausmann, 2007. "The Product Space Conditions the Development of Nations," Papers 0708.2090, arXiv.org.
    5. Jaebeum Cho & Alberto Isgut & Yusuke Tateno, 2017. "Pathways for adapting the Sustainable Development Goals to the national context: the case of Pakistan," Asia-Pacific Development Journal, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), vol. 24(2), pages 53-87, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hrishidev Unni & Rubal Rathi & Sangita Dutta Gupta & Anirban Chakraborti, 2025. "Analyzing the progress of Indian states chasing sustainable development goals using complex network framework," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 327-340, September.
    2. Jaebeum Cho & Alberto Isgut & Yusuke Tateno, 2017. "Pathways for adapting the Sustainable Development Goals to the national context: the case of Pakistan," Asia-Pacific Development Journal, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), vol. 24(2), pages 53-87, December.

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