Analysis of the Sustainable Development Indicators in the OECD Countries

Abstract

Sustainable development is a key task for governments that should end poverty, ensure prosperity, create better conditions for health, education or social needs. The set of indicators to be monitored for evaluation of successes or failures of the sustainable development varies by intergovernmental organizations like OECD or EU. To discover the status and dynamics of variables which are part of the sustainable development goals of the OECD countries is the main aim of the presented analysis. To measure the convergence of socio-economic indicators the coefficient of variation was used. The Pearson’s correlations coefficient and regression analysis were applied to detect the linear relationship between a pair of variables. The OECD countries were compared not only by using univariate statistical methods but also by applying a multivariate approach. The cluster analysis and principal component analysis were used for a set of indicators to monitor the countries from a wider perspective. The analyzed indicators GDP per capita or real change in GDP per capita belong to variables of economic activity. Variables of life expectancy at birth, standardized death rates for noncommunicable diseases belong to indicators of health. Altogether fifteen selected indicators were used for a multivariate analysis of OECD countries in two periods of time.