Reframing Poverty Within the Sustainable Development Strategies. Empirical Evidence at the European Union Level

Abstract

(1) Purpose: Within the significance of eradicating poverty in the long term, the purpose of this paper is to assess the implications of the dimensions of sustainable development, across all European Union Member States, on poverty, through the lens of dimensions focused on economic and social factors, both directly and globally, in their mutual interconnectedness. (2) Methodology: The research methodology consists of applying two econometric models, namely, panel models (with fixed effects) and Gaussian graphical models, to assess the mutual, global interconnectedness of the main sustainable development benchmarks. Data used in the analysis was collected for the period 2009 and 2019. (3) Results: There are direct and overall implications of the dimensions of sustainable development (including economic and social factors), across all European Union Member States, on poverty. (4) Conclusions: All the European Union Member States are affected by poverty, but to varying degrees, which is why governments are urged to further develop actions to combat the harmful effects of poverty. (5) Implications: In the context of the current financial and geopolitical crisis driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, increasing the focus of all stakeholders on poverty and sustainable development is essential, especially by expanding sustainable development goals that address multi-dimensional poverty.