Strategies for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in South Asia: Lessons from Policy Simulations

Nagesh Kumar (), Matthew Hammill (), Selim Raihan () and Swayamsiddha Panda ()
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Matthew Hammill: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) South and South-West Asia Office
Swayamsiddha Panda: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) South and South-West Asia Office

No 1601, Development Papers from United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) South and South-West Asia Office

Abstract: This paper analyzes the major challenges to achieving sustainable development in South Asia as a basis for articulating development strategies for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the subregion. It identifies key combinations of dimensions of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs that could form core development priorities and maximize interactions for the achievement of the SDGs. The paper further analyzes the policy impacts from select development priorities within a computable general equilibrium framework on economic growth, poverty reduction and employment, among other parameters of development. The results suggest that an industry-oriented structural transformation, enhancing agricultural productivity through sustainable agriculture and overall efficiency improvements through innovations have the potential to lift an additional 71 million people out of poverty, create 56 million additional jobs in South Asia and boost GDP by 15-30 per cent by 2030 over and above the business-as-usual scenario.

Keywords: South Asia; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Industrialization; Agricultural productivity; Economic growth; Computable General Equilibrium Models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C68 O1 O2 O5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2016-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cmp and nep-env
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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