In Search of Sustainable Economy Indicators: A Comparative Analysis between the Sustainable Development Goals Index and the Green Growth Index

Abstract

The absence of globally accepted indicators for measuring progress towards a Sustainable Economy (SE) presents a significant challenge in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a timely and comprehensive manner. Despite decades of attempts to develop alternative metrics and indicators for SE and Sustainable Development (SD), progress has been incremental and incomplete. This paper aims to comparatively assess the existing metrics for measuring progress towards SE based on their completeness and utility in various SE dimensions, attributes and characteristics. It aims to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each identified metric and provide a detailed analysis of existing sustainability indices through a comprehensive literature review and analysis. The importance and originality of our approach come from comparative analysis, mapping promising and relevant metrics identified through an extensive literature review against identified sustainability features. This paper employs the Sustainable Development Goals Index (SDGI) and the Green Growth Index (GGI) and applies them to Qatar and few selected countries. Qatar is showing noteworthy progress in both indices, albeit at varying rates, but it has more room for progress by learning from other countries. This study acknowledges its limitations, including data availability for a limited period and its application to only a selected set of countries. Finally, it recommends future research to broaden the scope of analysis over an extended timeframe and to a larger group of countries, enhancing the applicability and depth of the indices.