Efficiency evaluation of sustainable development in BRICS and G7 countries: a Data Envelopment Analysis approach

Abstract In order to measure the impact of the economic growth over the years, the sustainable development concept works to balance three pillars of sustainability - economic, social and environmental. This paper has the objective to compare emerging countries (BRICS) with the most developed countries (G7) by analysing sustainable development. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used, thorugh the variant SBM (Slacks Based Measured) model. The inputs were CO2 emission, percentage of unemployed and energy utilization. GDP and life expectancy at birth were used as outputs. The main result was a global average efficency ranking, having the emerging countries in top positions (India, China and Brazil, respectively). In addition, emerging countries have always stood out in the average of the slacks of each analyzed variable. These results are important in terms of being useful for public policies related to sustainable development, especially: (1) to contribute to the discussions related to evaluating the countries, helping to identify those with the best practices with regard to environmental, social and economic aspects in each group; and (2) to guide policy decisions regarding government incentives to promote the development of efficient countries in terms of economic growth and welfare social without harming the environment.