Economic development, industrialization, and poverty eradication: a benchmarking analysis of developing, emerging, and developed countries

This study utilizes benchmarking techniques to monitor productivity change in relation to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 8, and 9, addressing the challenges faced by countries in interpreting measures. The first SDG 1, “No Poverty”, aims to completely eliminate poverty. The objective of SDG 8, “Decent Work and Economic Growth”, is to foster comprehensive economic advancement. Finally, SDG 9, “Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure”, focuses on the creation of durable and sustainable infrastructure, as well as promoting innovation to drive economic progress. Economic development, job creation, wealth creation, and poverty eradication are crucial for sustainable development. However, there is no other study estimating the evolution of countries’ performance in terms of these SDGs, whether countries have converged or not, and how each of these SDGs contributes to this performance development. This is the main goal of the present study, which compares 85 countries (2010–2020) from different profiles (developing, emerging, and developed) in terms of several SDG indicators. We applied data envelopment analysis (DEA) and Malmquist productivity indices that quantify changes in efficiency and technology over time to assess productivity dynamics and improvements. Results showed that emerging countries showed the highest productivity development, followed by developing countries and finally developed countries. The slower productivity development in developed countries indicates stagnation, allowing emerging countries to converge in terms of wealth creation, distribution, and poverty reduction.