Abstract
This study aims to determine the influence of the fiscal, monetary, and public policy environment in Sri Lanka and its impact on sustainable development before and after COVID-19. This study used the document analysis qualitative research method to obtain and analyse fiscal, monetary, and public policy data. It assigned and measured the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) values and trends. The goals were clustered into social, environmental, and sustainability-related intellectual capital to measure their dimensional capital status values and trends. Despite the economic crisis, Sri Lanka has moderately progressed in sustainable development, with most improvements in social capital. The environmental and sustainability-related intellectual capital dimensions follow. The 17 SDGs were advancing at various levels. Two were on track (Goal 4: Quality education and Goal 9: Industry, innovation, and infrastructure). Five moderately improved goals (Goal 2: Zero hunger, Goal 3: Good health and well-being, Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation, Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production, and Goal 13: Climate action). Seven were stagnant (Goal 5: Gender equality, Goal 7: Affordable clean energy, Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth, Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities, Goal 14: Life below water, Goal 16: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, and Goal 17: Partnership for the goals). Two showed a decrease (Goal 1: Poverty and Goal 15: Life on land). No data are reported for Goal 10 (Reduce inequalities). Fiscal and monetary policies were overly focussed on economic repair and reconstruction. Public policy has nevertheless contributed to sustainable development. This is the first study to examine the multidimensional policy environment and its impact on sustainable development in Sri Lanka.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 580 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-28 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Journal | Sustainability (Switzerland) |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 9 Jan 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The economic crisis from which Sri Lanka is recovering can be attributed to policy failures because successive governments have diminished the capacity to fulfil citizens’ claims and promises for social contractual promises. These claims take the form of delivering high-quality public goods and services while providing sovereign protection (Rotberg, 2016) []. Sri Lanka ranked high on the UNDP Human Development Index for a developing nation with 0.782 out of 1 maximum score in 2021 on the three basic dimensions of a healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living for a small island nation with a population of 21.8 million (UNDP, 2022) []. However, the country showed a lacklustre performance on the Transparency International Corruption Index, with 36 out of the maximum 100 best scores in 2022, attributed to mismanagement and rampant corruption perceived by the public (Transparency International, 2023) []. The backdrop of these policy dilemmas and economic turmoil motivated this study. Sri Lanka is a signatory to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) (UNICEF, 2023) []. Sri Lanka’s highly valued middle path to sustainable development is supported by religious beliefs, which promote the use of natural resources to support simple lifestyles (Ministry of Environment, 2012; Bandarage, 2023) [,].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the author.
