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The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 31157

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ştefan Cristian Gherghina

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Guest Editor

Department of Finance, Faculty of Finance and Banking, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010552 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: corporate finance; corporate governance; quantitative finance; sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Liliana Nicoleta Simionescu

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Guest Editor

Department of Finance, Faculty of Finance and Banking, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 6 Piata Romana, 1st District, Bucharest, Romania
Interests: corporate tax; corporate social responsibility; fiscal and budget policy; sustainable economic growth; health economics; applied econometrics in finance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a substantial disturbance to societies’ lives and livelihoods, causing us to reevaluate the whole common existence of humans worldwide. Additionally, the novel coronavirus has been a critical obstacle to attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) embraced in September 2015 and set to be reached by 2030. Prior to COVID-19, most nations were progressing towards the SDGs, but the ongoing turning point is imperiling years of advances, postponing the crucial shift to low-carbon, resource-efficient and socially inclusive economies. The monetary and societal perturbation caused by the pandemic is overwhelming, and numerous individuals are at risk of falling into severe deprivation, while many enterprises are struggling with the economic failure. The pandemic has drastically heightened overall job loss and severely lowered employees’ wages. Moreover, the crisis raised persistent gender disparities in workforce participation rates since there was a greater expectation placed on women than men to abandon their jobs to care for families. Even though the authorities of high-income nations have loaned greatly in retort to the disease, low-income developing states had limited borrowing ability due to their lesser market creditworthiness. Hence, the outbreak has deepened disparities between countries. Meanwhile, imbalances continue to intensify for exposed people in nations with poor health structures and those confronting with humanitarian crunches. Unfortunately, administrations throughout the world are on the edge of greater debt than any time in recent memory, outstripping even World War II. The imposed lockdowns drastically lowered human activities, thus causing a transient drop in greenhouse gas discharges, but as the world recovers from the disease, emissions are expected to soar. Henceforward, sustainable and resilient strategies are vital for a healthy and green restoration from the COVID-19 pandemic and the SDGs are essential to this process.

This Special Issue will increase the existing literature through qualitative and quantitative studies on topics including, but not limited to:

Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on income inequality.
Assessing the influence of pandemic on labor market.
Analyzing the effects of COVID-19 on energy consumption.
Examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on air pollution and climate change.
Inspecting the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on education and digital skills.
Evaluating the consequences of COVID-19 on small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Estimating the influence of pandemic on waste generation.
Investigating the effect of COVID-19 on food security.
Researching the impact of the pandemic on sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
Developing recovery strategies after COVID-19 for achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr. Ştefan Cristian Gherghina
Dr. Liliana Nicoleta Simionescu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
COVID-19
pandemic and poverty
COVID-19 and quality education
pandemic and reduced inequalities
COVID-19 and energy sector
pandemic and pollution
COVID-19 and environmental health
pandemic and labor market
green post-pandemic recovery strategies

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 4240 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Development Goal Attainment in the Wake of COVID-19: Simulating an Ambitious Policy Push

by Taylor Hanna, Barry B. Hughes, Mohammod T. Irfan, David K. Bohl, José Solórzano, Babatunde Abidoye, Laurel Patterson and Jonathan D. Moyer

Sustainability 2024, 16(8), 3309; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16083309 - 16 Apr 2024

Viewed by 741

Abstract

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was not on course to meet key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger). Some significant degree of additional effort was needed before the pandemic, and the challenge is now greater. Analyzing the prospects for meeting these goals requires attention to the combined effects of the pandemic and such additional impetus. This article assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on progress toward the SDGs and explores strategies to recover and accelerate development. Utilizing the International Futures (IFs) forecasting system and recognizing the near impossibility of meeting the goals by 2030, three scenarios are examined through to 2050: A pre-COVID-19 trajectory (No COVID-19), the current path influenced by the pandemic (Current Path), and a transformative SDG-focused approach prioritizing key policy strategies to accelerate outcomes (SDG Push). The pandemic led to a rise in extreme poverty and hunger, with recovery projected to be slow. The SDG Push scenario effectively addresses this, surpassing the Current Path and achieving significant global improvements in poverty, malnutrition, and human development by 2050 even relative to the No COVID-19 path. The findings emphasize the need for integrated, transformative actions to propel sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals)

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21 pages, 937 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Cognitive Load on Learning Memory of Online Learning Accounting Students in the Philippines

by Indra Abeysekera, Emily Sunga, Avelino Gonzales and Raul David

Sustainability 2024, 16(4), 1686; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041686 - 19 Feb 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3040

Abstract

Before COVID-19, universities in the Philippines sparingly used online learning instructional methods. Online learning is now widely known, and universities are increasingly keen to adopt it as a mainstream instructional method. Accounting is a popular discipline of study undertaken by students, but its online adoption is less well known. This study investigated university accounting students’ perceptions of the cognitive load of learning and how it influences their effect on learning memory at a university in the Philippines. During the COVID-19 period, after introducing online learning, 482 university undergraduate accounting students provided their perceptions using a five-point Likert scale survey questionnaire. The study measured teaching quality, learning content quality, and learning management system (LMS) quality, representing the cognitive load of learning. It measured electronic learning (e-learning) quality, learner satisfaction, and behavioral intentions to adopt online learning, continually representing the learning memory framework. The data analyzed using a structural equation model showed that students managing their cognitive load positively influenced their short-term learning. Learning content, teaching, and LMS quality positively influenced e-learning quality and student satisfaction. Student satisfaction positively influenced, but e-learning quality did not influence, students’ continued willingness for online learning. The findings were largely consistent across the second- and third-year enrolments. Findings from the first-year students showed that teaching quality did not influence student satisfaction and e-learning quality. This is the first study to test the influence of the cognitive load of learning on the learning memory of accounting students in an online learning environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals)

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14 pages, 3665 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Emotions of Educators Conducting Emergency Remote Teaching during COVID-19 Confinement

by Eneko Tejada Garitano, Javier Portillo Berasaluce, Arantzazu López de la Serna and Ander Arce Alonso

Sustainability 2024, 16(4), 1456; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041456 - 8 Feb 2024

Viewed by 897

Abstract

The home confinement of the population in Spain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted face-to-face teaching and led teachers of all educational levels to perform their activities remotely. This represented a radical change in daily tasks. The goal of this study is to analyse and understand the emotions teachers experienced while performing Emergency Remote Teaching during home confinement. We performed a descriptive quantitative analysis and a comparison of the means (ANOVA) related to the independent sociodemographic variables (age, gender, and educational stage). The study sample consisted of 4589 teachers from the Basque Country, and represents the largest study with these characteristics conducted in Spain. The results obtained in the research show that, despite suffering great stress, teachers also felt pride in the work they had done. The study concludes that the teachers in the group who suffered the most negative feelings were women, primary school teachers, and middle-aged educators. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals)

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18 pages, 5210 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Financial Condition and Mortality in Polish Regions

by Krystyna Brzozowska, Małgorzata Gorzałczyńska-Koczkodaj, Elżbieta Ociepa-Kicińska and Przemysław Pluskota

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8993; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118993 - 2 Jun 2023

Viewed by 984

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial condition and mortality in Polish voivodeships. To achieve this objective, the relationship between the number of deaths before and during the pandemic and the financial condition of the provinces in Poland was studied. The study covered the years 2017–2020, for which a one-way ANOVA was used to verify whether there was a relationship between the level of a province’s financial condition and the number of deaths. The results of the study are surprising and show that before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a higher number of deaths in provinces that were better off financially, but the relationship was not statistically significant. In contrast, during the pandemic, a statistically significant strong negative correlation between these values was proven, which, in practice, shows that regions with better financial conditions had a higher number of deaths during COVID-19. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals)

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29 pages, 1044 KiB

Open AccessArticle

COVID-19 Pandemic Learning: The Uprising of Remote Detailing in Pharmaceutical Sector Using Sales Force Automation and Its Sustainable Impact on Continuing Medical Education

by Elgiz Yılmaz Altuntaş and Esin Cumhur Yalçın

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8955; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118955 - 1 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1278

Abstract

The availability of resources is vital when rapid changes and updated medical information in the provision of care are needed, such as in the fight against COVID-19, which is not a conventional disease. Continuing medical education plays an essential role in preparing for and responding to such emergencies. Workflow has improved based on the virtual meetings, online trainings, and remote detailing conducted by medical representatives in order to deliver educational content instantly through digital tools, such as salesforce automation (SFA), webinars, etc. In terms of its regulatory barriers, the pharmaceutical industry mainly targets healthcare professionals, unlike most businesses that reach end users directly. Medical representatives are equipped with an SFA to enhance customer relationship management (CRM) and closed loop marketing (CLM) capabilities in pharmaceutical companies. This study aimed to fill a gap in the literature by investigating the use of SFA in work patterns, such as health professionals’ loyalty and involvement in their medical knowledge in Turkey, and how it allows for differentiating training from marketing. This study intended to compare the data on internists and medical products gathered from a well-known pharmaceutical company’s SFA. The data covered the first three months of the year 2020, when medical representatives had a normal daily routine, and that of 2021, when Turkey experienced the most powerful surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis was based on simple correspondence analysis (SCA) and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) for 11 variables. Monitoring product, physician’s segment, and medical representatives’ behaviors with SFA had a significant influence on the pharma-physician relationship strategy, as expected. The findings supported the view that SFA technologies can be deployed to advance the medical knowledge of physicians, in addition to managing and designing superior CRM and CLM capabilities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals)

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18 pages, 1985 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of External Shocks on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Linking the COVID-19 Pandemic to SDG Implementation at the Local Government Level

by Björn Mestdagh, Olivier Sempiga and Luc Van Liedekerke

Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 6234; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15076234 - 4 Apr 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1978

Abstract

Using data from a survey we conducted in collaboration with the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG), this article sought to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of SDGs by Flemish local governments (cities and municipalities). Identifying such effects has usually been conducted on individuals and at a macro level and not at the organization and local government level. By using a counterfactual approach, we were able to disentangle various COVID-19 effects over time and learn how systems at the local level react to external shocks. The approach allowed us to single out the effects of the pandemic at the organizational level while looking into three distinct periods: before the pandemic, during the pandemic, and in its aftermath. Results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the Flemish public sector’s implementation of SDGs at the local level. At the same time, COVID-19 allowed local public institutions to accelerate the implementation of a few SDGs (e.g., SDG1, SDG3) and to postpone a few SDG-related activities which would be resumed once the pandemic is ‘over’. COVID-19 is not only a challenge; it acts as a wake-up call and an opportunity to commit more towards the implementation of (certain) SDGs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals)

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19 pages, 2011 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Situation of the Unemployed in Poland. A Study Using Survival Analysis Methods

by Beata Bieszk-Stolorz and Iwona Markowicz

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12677; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912677 - 5 Oct 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2474

Abstract

Many studies point to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the socio-economic situation of countries and, consequently, on the achievement of sustainable development goals. Although termed a health crisis, the pandemic has also had an impact on the labour market. The imposed restrictions caused companies to close or reduce their operations. Employees switched to remote work, but also often lost their jobs temporarily or permanently. However, the impact of the pandemic on the labour market is not so obvious. This is indicated by our research and that of other researchers. In this paper, we used individual data on the unemployed registered at the labour office in Szczecin (Poland) and were thus able to apply survival analysis methods. These methods allowed us to assess changes in the duration of unemployment and the intensity of taking up work for individual cohorts (unemployed people deregistered in a given quarter). The results indicate, on the one hand, the problems in the labour market during the pandemic and, on the other hand, the adapted reaction of the unemployed to the situation and the acceleration of the decision to accept an offered job. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals)

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26 pages, 1862 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Digitalization as a Factor in Reducing Poverty and Its Implications in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Cristi Spulbar, Lucian Claudiu Anghel, Ramona Birau, Simona Ioana Ermiș, Laurențiu-Mihai Treapăt and Adrian T. Mitroi

Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10667; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710667 - 26 Aug 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3586

Abstract

In the present economic context, one of the most important topics of discussion is that regarding sustainable development. According to the agenda developed by the United Nations, one of the most important objectives for the present decade is represented by the list of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Sustainable Development Goals can be divided into five pillars: people, planet, prosperity, partnership and peace. One of the first stipulated goals of the UN agenda is the eradication of poverty and famine. We consider that a significant influence on the eradication of poverty is represented by the development of technology. In this paper, the authors aim to establish a connection between the rate of technological development and the poverty headcount rate. To measure the digital development of the analyzed countries, we decided to compose an index of digital development by taking into account indicators made available by the International Telecommunication Union and the poverty headcount ratio, as was calculated by the World Bank database. This empirical study is of interest for the implications that it has in shaping governmental policies regarding easing the access to digital technology. The method used to quantify the influence of digital development on poverty was the panel data GMM vector autoregressive model for a dataset composed of 35 countries for the period between 2005 and 2018. The results indicate that an increase in digital development will lead to a reduction in the poverty headcount rate. These results imply that by increasing access to technology, countries could help reduce their level of poverty. In this paper, we will also analyze the way in which adopting digital development leads to better economic performance when faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the present study are of great interest to the scientific community and the public due to the implications of digital development in the field of economics and the combined effect of this phenomenon and the COVID-19 pandemic. We thus conclude that by encouraging digital development and through adopting new technologies, the government can lead to the eradication of poverty. This seems counterintuitive due to the fact that investment in shelter and primary goods can be seen as one of the primary ways of developing the economy. We conclude that better and more consistent results regarding the reduction of poverty can be obtained by increasing the digital development of a country. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals)

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12 pages, 600 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Satisfaction Level of Engineering Students in Face-to-Face and Online Modalities under COVID-19—Case: School of Engineering of the University of León, Spain

by Rebeca Martínez-García, Fernando J. Fraile-Fernández, Gabriel Búrdalo-Salcedo, Ana María Castañón-García, María Fernández-Raga and Covadonga Palencia

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6269; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106269 - 21 May 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4876

Abstract

University education in times of COVID-19 was forced to seek alternative teaching/learning methods to the traditional ones, having to abruptly migrate to the online modality, changes that have repercussions on student satisfaction. That is why this study aims to compare the level of student satisfaction in face-to-face and “forced” online modalities under COVID-19. A quantitative, cross-sectional methodology was applied to two groups of students: Under a face-to-face modality (n = 116) and under an online modality (n = 120), to which a questionnaire was applied under a Likert scale, with four dimensions: Course design structure, content, resources, and instructor. Non-parametric statistics, specifically the Mann–Whitney U-test, were used to compare the groups. The results showed that there are significant differences in the level of satisfaction of students in the face-to-face and online “forced” modalities (p = 0.01984 < 0.05), and the dimensions of the level of satisfaction that presented significant differences were course design structure (p = 0.04523 < 0.05) and content (p = 0.00841 < 0.05). The research shows that students in the face-to-face modality express a higher level of satisfaction, which is reflected in the dimension design structure of the course, specifically in its workload indicator, as well as in the dimension content, in its indicators, overlapping with other courses and materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals)

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20 pages, 366 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of the Similarity of the Situation in the EU Labour Markets and Their Changes in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Beata Bieszk-Stolorz and Krzysztof Dmytrów

Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3646; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063646 - 20 Mar 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2283

Abstract

The aim of the study is to assess the similarity of the situation in the EU labour markets and their evolution using selected indicators in the period before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The benchmark are the countries that most closely meet the Sustainable Development Goals related to the labour market. We use quarterly data from Eurostat presenting the basic indicators of the labour market: unemployment, employment, and activity rates. We analyse all indicators for the total population, young people, and people aged 55+. We assess the similarity of the situation using the TOPSIS method and similarity of changes by means of the Dynamic Time Warping. We obtain homogeneous groups of countries due to similarity of time series using hierarchical clustering. We conduct the analysis in two periods: the years 2018 and 2019 (pre-pandemic period) and from the beginning of 2020 to the present (pandemic period). The composition of the clusters in the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods is different. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the situation in the labour market can be noted. This is a result of different degree of development of labour markets, which had an impact on coping with the effects of the crisis caused by the pandemic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals)

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Review

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16 pages, 650 KiB

Open AccessReview

Working from Home, Telework, and Psychological Wellbeing? A Systematic Review

by Joseph Crawford

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 11874; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141911874 - 21 Sep 2022

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 6960

Abstract

The practice of telework, remote work, and working from home has grown significantly across the pandemic era (2020+). These practices offer new ways of working but come with a lack of clarity as to the role it plays in supporting the wellbeing of staff. (1) Background: The purpose of this study is to examine the current literature on wellbeing outcomes and effects of telework; (2) Methods: This study adopts a systematic literature review from 2000–2022 using the PRISMA approach and thematic analysis guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Wellbeing, Decent Work, Gender Equality, and Inclusive Production); (3) Results: It was evident that there is a lack of clarity on the actual effects of telework on employee wellbeing, but it appeared that it had a generally positive effect on the short-term wellbeing of staff, and created more flexible and proactive work design opportunities; (4) Conclusions: There is a need for more targeted research into work designs that support wellbeing and productivity of staff, and consider the environmental sustainability changes from reduced office and onsite work and increased working from home. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals)

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