Achieving sustainable development goals: predicaments and strategies

The ambitious United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been criticized for being universal, broadly framed, inconsistent and difficult to quantify, implement and monitor. We contribute by quantifying and prioritising the SDGs and their impact on sustainable development. We employ structural equation models (SEM) to investigate, which of the underlying pillars of SDGs (economic, social and environment) are the most effective in achieving sustainable development. Our results reveal that the developed countries benefit most by focusing on social and environmental factors, whereas the developing countries benefit most by retaining their focus on the economic and the social factors.