Prompt:

How do national and international factors interact in empowering some states of the Global South to make more progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals than other states?

After completing our group project on Sri Lanka and participating in the Zoom meeting I gained better insight into national and international factors that empower states of the Global South to make more progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Factors related to SDGs often interact. For the purposes of this post domestic factors like transparent government and natural resources will interacts with international factors like trade, and states demonstrate varying levels of success.

While researching Sri Lanka I found that corruption significantly limited progress on sustainable development goals, because it created income inequality and poor economic policies. In the Zoom meeting, many other groups connected high corruption to poor SDG progress, such as in Bangladesh, which fails to achieve some of the fundamental purposes of government. By contrast, Singapore offers government programs that sponsor transparency. Their impressive progress on the SDGs can be primarily attributed to the successful implementation of goal 16, peace justice, and strong institutions. The importance of government transparency is crucial to making SDG progress from a foundational standpoint. The transparency in government and fund usage is especially important in managing industries that have the capability to produce economic growth.

Natural Resources in the Northwest | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

https://toolkit.climate.gov/image/3477

One industry that governments interact with through policy and regulation is natural resources. Resources like petroleum in Turkey and fish in Sri Lanka provide work and income for citizens. However, petroleum in Turkey has been a significant export, allowing for growth in the face of economic crises like the pandemic. Whereas fisherman in Sri Lanka still have access to the natural resource, inflation makes fishing equipment so expensive that their is little economic growth for citizens. Industries based on natural resources can create consistent work opportunities, amongst other things, but strong institutions are required to ensure that such resources are managed in ways that promote the different aspects of goal eight. In addition to that, countries like Singapore, which need natural resources like fresh water, must maneuver international trade markets to ensure that they have access to such an important resource.

Trade has been a consistent factor in connecting domestic markets of countries to international factors. From natural resources like petroleum, lithium, and water to manufactured goods like textiles, trade bolsters the economy and growth in many of the countries. In addition, countries have to build strong relationships with other countries to maintain trade relations. Trade is a consistent factor that helps with the economic implementation of sustainable development goals. However, strong institutions are needed to ensure proper management of the resources, and what level of government intervention is needed in markets. Therefore, all of these factors closely interact, but countries must be strategic in management to ensure that growth occurs.

3 Responses to “Factors That Encourage SDG progress”

  1.   waynec said:

    Annie, thank you for this post! You mention the role of government and how it ties everything together. In your opinion, do you think strong domestic institutions are the foundation of success, or do you think it is possible to achieve economic growth by focusing on international relations? For example, do you think membership to a impactful regional organization is enough to facilitate progress, or is such work meaningless in the face of domestic instability?

  2.   elliotan said:

    Hello, and thank you so much for your comment. I think strong domestic institutions that fulfill the required functions are the foundation to economic success. In Sri Lanka for example, inflation has made it difficult for citizens to satisfy basic needs, let alone consider sustainability, education, etc. If there are too many problems within a state, focusing time and energy on relations out of state would be disregarding the people that state is meant to serve. However, I do think factors like foreign investment can bolster domestic institutions, and certainly regional organizations might give them the bargaining power to make economic gains. But a strong government seems to me the foundation that leads to productive economic growth.

  3.   Malika Kaloo said:

    Hi Annie! Thank you for this insightful post. Transparent governments are very important for the overall progress of a country because you have a way to hold those in power responsible for their actions. However, corruption can significantly impede development of a nation. The example of Singapore that you presented is an excellent one. The country is ranked 5th least corrupt country in the world out of 188 countries by the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) as of 2022. This reflects in their fast progress towards achieving SDGs. However, do you their domestic stability and transparent government is the most important factor in their progress or do you think there are many underlying factors associated with it?

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