Measuring and analyzing the impact of strong and weak sustainable development on economic growth in the Iraqi and Singaporean economies for the period 2000-2023

Abstract

Weak sustainability assumes that technological progress generates technical solutions to environmental problems, while strong sustainability assumes limited substitution between natural capital and industrial capital due to the inability of the ecosystem, directly or indirectly, to provide the services necessary for well-being. Based on this concept, the current study analyzed the development pattern in the Iraqi economy and the development pattern in the Singaporean economy using a time series for the period (2000-2023) and the ARDEL method. The statistical results showed that growth in Iraq suffers from weak development sustainability, while the development pattern in Singapore follows strong sustainable development. Based on this conclusion, the study presented several proposals, including that achieving sustainable development in Iraq requires enhancing political stability and institutional reform as a basic condition, diversifying the economy away from oil by supporting sectors such as agriculture, industry and tourism, improving education and vocational training to ensure the development of human capital, which contributes to increasing productivity, adopting effective environmental policies aimed at reducing emissions and preserving natural resources, and enhancing international cooperation to benefit from global expertise in achieving strong sustainable development.