Going beyond Gross Domestic Product as an indicator to bring coherence to the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) comprise an important policy achievement towards identifying shared goals for addressing global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Though policy coherence for sustainable development ultimately depends on coherence among the SDGs – as progress toward one goal should not hamper progress toward others – synergies and trade-offs are emerging among the metrics (indicators) used to measure progress towards the various targets of the SDGs. In this context, the choice of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita as an indicator for SDG 8 (“Decent Work and Economic Growth”) contradicts the evidence that limitless economic growth is not possible on a planet with finite resources. Here, we highlight how pursuing unconditional GDP growth risks failing to achieve the SDGs overall. We show how, in the European Union, GDP is unrelated to other measures of economic performance such as levels of employment, and relates inversely to indicators of environmental sustainability and broader measures of wellbeing. Pursuing SDG 8 through a continuous increase in GDP will therefore hinder the achievement of environmental goals and goals on reducing inequalities. We propose guidelines for selecting alternative indicators for SDG 8 with the aim of improving coherence among all of the SDGs, as well as between the SDGs and other policy initiatives for sustainability. This will inform a better monitoring of SDG 8 and the definition of post-2030 Agendas for sustainable development.