What factors make a municipality more involved in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals? Empirical evidence

Abstract

According to the Institutional Theory, governments must respond to the climate and socio-economic challenges of the future by implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Moreover, in line with the Legitimacy Theory, governments need to adhere to the timetable of the 2030 Agenda to reduce social and economic disparities and avoid the serious environmental problems caused by current lifestyles. To achieve the SDGs, it is essential to engage various public and private stakeholders. Among these, local governments are particularly relevant, given the diversity of basic services they provide and their proximity to citizens. In this context, this paper aims to address the deficiencies in empirical research about the factors leading to SDG compliance in local governments. To this end, SDG compliance indices are constructed for 100 Spanish municipalities. These indices are used as the dependent variables in the research models, which are estimated using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS). The findings indicate that municipalities characterised by elevated unemployment and lower tax revenue collection tend to comply less with the SDGs. In contrast, in municipalities where citizens participate more in elections and the government is more fragmented, compliance is greater. These findings can be useful for policymakers, regulators and other public officials involved in SDG implementation, as they deepen the understanding of the conditions that favour SDG achievement.