Search for Measure of the Value of Baltic Sustainability Development: A Meta-Review

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to identify a sustainability development measure. The United Nations announced 17 development objectives in Agenda 2030. This research attempts to identify a measurement which captures all of the UN objectives. It uses the Baltic Sea Region as a natural laboratory for the sustainability discussion. This paper provides an analysis of a sample from the population of 159 research papers, published between 1990 and 2019. With the application of citation count regression, the population of papers is reduced to a sample of the heterogenic papers. These papers were then analysed for the existence of an integrated sustainability development measurement. The results indicate that there is no available applied or theoretical model for an integrated measurement of sustainable development across all of the United Nation’s goals. The study provides the framework for a further matrix in reference to gross domestic product. The results are robust in terms of different sample specifications. The identified research gap has a policy implication. There is a need to develop a universal and comprehensive sustainable value measure to support policymakers and their public choices.