Analyzing the Effective Contributions of Local Governments in Promoting Regional Sustainable Development: Evidence from Hainan, China

Xiaolin Xu and Hezhen Yang ()
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Xiaolin Xu: College of Public Administration and Law, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Hezhen Yang: College of Public Administration and Law, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-35

Abstract: Based on the framework of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this study takes Hainan Province of China as a typical case. It evaluates a comprehensive sustainable development assessment system covering six dimensions: economic development, social welfare, resources and environment, consumption and emission, governance and protection, and agricultural development through the entropy method. It quantifies the sustainable development levels of the entire province from 2015 to 2023 and of 18 cities and counties in 2023 using cluster analysis. It also analyzes the mechanism of the local government’s role through policy text analysis. The study shows that, firstly, the comprehensive sustainable development level of Hainan Province has been steadily rising. Economic development, social welfare, resources and environment, and consumption and emission have generally improved, but the governance and protection and agricultural development indicators have shown significant phased fluctuations. Secondly, in 2023, the sustainable development levels of cities and counties in Hainan Province presented a “stepwise distribution” spatial differentiation feature. Central cities such as Haikou and Sanya have developed ahead, while the development in the central and western regions has been relatively moderate. Thirdly, local governments have achieved multi-dimensional goal coordination through policies such as industrial structure optimization and ecological compensation mechanisms. The study suggests that while strengthening the leading role of local governments, it is necessary to build a multi-party collaborative mechanism involving enterprises, social organizations, and the public to address the regional imbalance in the implementation of SDGs.

Keywords: local governments; regional sustainable development; sustainable development goals; stakeholder (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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