In an interdependent and interconnected world, countries’ ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is affected by positive or negative spillovers from other countries.
International SDG spillovers are pervasive. They can relate to the environment, socio-economic factors, finance and governance, and security. Yet monitoring of progress towards the SDGs and national strategies largely ignore such spillovers.
This working paper describes international SDG spillovers and reviews techniques for their measurement. It proposes six practical steps to close knowledge and data gaps on trade-related international spillover effects.
International spillovers are critical for SDG implementation, but data availability is limited, and these issues are rarely discussed in policy circles. Six priorities for action can help address these gaps:
1. Improve communication and policy use of data on spillover effects
2. Improve governance of international supply chains based on available spillover data and information
3. Apply existing MRIO, MFA and LCA methods to more SDG spillovers, including time series
4. Promote open-access supply chain data for LCA
5. Improve consistency of international and national data, applying the System of National Accounts (SNA), in particular in developing countries
6. Advance hybrid methods for assessing international spillovers.
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