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Socio-economic Development and Sustainability
Research Guide
What is Socio-economic Development and Sustainability?
Socio-economic Development and Sustainability is the intersection of sustainable development, economic growth, and information and communication technologies, focusing on energy efficiency, entrepreneurship, innovation, and the knowledge economy in the context of European countries, regional development, and social policy.
This field encompasses 9,491 papers exploring sustainable development and economic growth through multi-criteria decision-making methods applied to economic and social challenges. Key topics include energy efficiency, entrepreneurship, innovation, regional development, and social policy, often analyzed in European contexts. Papers emphasize quantitative methods for assessing solutions in transition economies and construction management.
Topic Hierarchy
Research Sub-Topics
Sustainable Development Indicators
Researchers construct composite indices like SDG trackers, measuring economic, social, and environmental progress in European regions. Methodological debates center on weighting, data aggregation, and policy relevance.
ICT Impact on Economic Growth
Studies employ econometric models to quantify digital infrastructure's contributions to GDP, productivity, and innovation in EU economies. Panel data analyses reveal sectoral and regional variations.
Energy Efficiency in Regional Development
This sub-topic assesses building retrofits, renewable integration, and policy incentives for reducing energy intensity across European regions. Cost-benefit analyses support green transition frameworks.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy
Investigators evaluate startup ecosystems, R&D subsidies, and cluster policies fostering high-growth firms in knowledge economies. Cross-country comparisons highlight best practices.
Multi-Criteria Decision Making in Economics
Scholars apply MCDM methods like AHP, TOPSIS, and MOORA to rank sustainable investments, site selections, and policy alternatives. Hybrid fuzzy models handle economic uncertainty.
Why It Matters
Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods enable rational selection of dispute resolution approaches by evaluating economic, social, and other attributes, as shown in "SELECTION OF RATIONAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION METHOD BY APPLYING NEW STEP‐WISE WEIGHT ASSESSMENT RATIO ANALYSIS (SWARA)" where Keršulienė et al. (2010) applied SWARA to legislative tasks with 1,387 citations. In transition economies, project management using MULTIMOORA supports shifts from centrally planned to market systems, demonstrated by Brauers and Zavadskas (2010) in "PROJECT MANAGEMENT BY MULTIMOORA AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR TRANSITION ECONOMIES" with 615 citations. Construction decisions, such as selecting dwelling house walls, incorporate interval-based attribute values for multiple requirements, per Zavadskas et al. (2008) in their paper with 387 citations. Site selection for construction uses hybrid fuzzy AHP and WASPAS models, as in Turskis et al. (2015) with 281 citations, aiding practical applications in housing and infrastructure.
Reading Guide
Where to Start
"MULTIPLE CRITERIA DECISION MAKING (MCDM) METHODS IN ECONOMICS: AN OVERVIEW / DAUGIATIKSLIAI SPRENDIMŲ PRIĖMIMO METODAI EKONOMIKOJE: APŽVALGA" by Zavadskas and Turskis (2011) provides an accessible overview of MCDM foundations in economics and sustainable development, ideal for building foundational knowledge before specific applications.
Key Papers Explained
"SELECTION OF RATIONAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION METHOD BY APPLYING NEW STEP‐WISE WEIGHT ASSESSMENT RATIO ANALYSIS (SWARA)" by Keršulienė et al. (2010) introduces SWARA for multi-attribute assessment, which Zavadskas and Turskis (2011) contextualize in their MCDM economics overview, while Brauers and Zavadskas (2010) extend similar principles via MULTIMOORA to project management in transition economies. Podvezko (2011) compares related methods like SAW and COPRAS, building on these by analyzing their comparative performance. Turskis et al. (2015) advance hybrids like fuzzy AHP-WASPAS for practical construction, linking back to Zavadskas et al.'s (2008) interval attributes in dwelling selection.
Paper Timeline
Most-cited paper highlighted in red. Papers ordered chronologically.
Advanced Directions
Current literature emphasizes MCDM extensions to fuzzy and hybrid models, as in Turskis et al. (2015), with no recent preprints available to indicate shifts. Focus remains on European transition economies and construction, per top-cited works up to 2015.
Papers at a Glance
| # | Paper | Year | Venue | Citations | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SELECTION OF RATIONAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION METHOD BY APPLYING NE... | 2010 | Journal of Business Ec... | 1.4K | ✓ |
| 2 | STATE OF ART SURVEYS OF OVERVIEWS ON MCDM/MADM METHODS | 2014 | Technological and Econ... | 831 | ✓ |
| 3 | MULTIPLE CRITERIA DECISION MAKING (MCDM) METHODS IN ECONOMICS:... | 2011 | Technological and Econ... | 751 | ✓ |
| 4 | PROJECT MANAGEMENT BY MULTIMOORA AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR TRANSITI... | 2010 | Technological and Econ... | 615 | ✓ |
| 5 | Parametric Statistical Change Point Analysis | 2011 | Birkhäuser Boston eBooks | 601 | ✕ |
| 6 | Eurostat-OECD Manual on Business Demography Statistics | 2008 | OECD eBooks | 482 | ✕ |
| 7 | Confirmatory Factor Analysis | 2010 | Encyclopedia of Resear... | 459 | ✕ |
| 8 | The Comparative Analysis of MCDA Methods SAW and COPRAS | 2011 | Engineering Economics | 389 | ✓ |
| 9 | SELECTION OF THE EFFECTIVE DWELLING HOUSE WALLS BY APPLYING AT... | 2008 | Journal of Civil Engin... | 387 | ✓ |
| 10 | A Hybrid Model Based on Fuzzy AHP and Fuzzy WASPAS for Constru... | 2015 | International Journal ... | 281 | ✓ |
Latest Developments
Recent developments in Socio-economic Development and Sustainability research include the upcoming 15th International Conference on Economic Development and Social Sustainability in Rome (April 2026), the 14th International Conference on Sustainable Development scheduled for September 2026, and the 22nd International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability in April 2026, focusing on themes like long-term wellbeing and hidden risks (edass.org, circulareconomy.europa.eu, onsustainability.com). Additionally, the 2026 World Sustainable Development Summit in New Delhi (February 2026) and the Global Sustainable Development Congress in Jakarta (June 2026) highlight ongoing global efforts (wsds.teriin.org, gsdcongress.com). Recent publications also emphasize the importance of addressing unseen sustainability risks and the need for a systems reset for sustainable development (nature.com, eprints.lse.ac.uk).
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
What are MCDM methods used for in economics?
"MULTIPLE CRITERIA DECISION MAKING (MCDM) METHODS IN ECONOMICS: AN OVERVIEW / DAUGIATIKSLIAI SPRENDIMŲ PRIĖMIMO METODAI EKONOMIKOJE: APŽVALGA" by Zavadskas and Turskis (2011) reviews their role in assessing and selecting preferable solutions for implementation and control in operation research and sustainable development. These methods evaluate alternatives across multiple attributes in economic contexts. The paper notes increased research activity in economics over the prior five years, with 751 citations.
How does SWARA assist in dispute resolution?
"SELECTION OF RATIONAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION METHOD BY APPLYING NEW STEP‐WISE WEIGHT ASSESSMENT RATIO ANALYSIS (SWARA)" by Keršulienė, Zavadskas, and Turskis (2010) applies SWARA to assess dispute resolution methods from economic and social viewpoints using multi-attribute systems. This method determines rational choices for legislative tasks. The approach garnered 1,387 citations.
What is MULTIMOORA in project management?
"PROJECT MANAGEMENT BY MULTIMOORA AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR TRANSITION ECONOMIES / PROJEKTŲ VADYBA SU MULTIMOORA KAIP PRIEMONĖ PEREINAMOJO LAIKOTARPIO ŪKIAMS" by Brauers and Zavadskas (2010) proposes MULTIMOORA for managing projects in Central and Eastern European transition economies, outperforming traditional cost-benefit analysis. It addresses market-oriented shifts from planned economies. The paper has 615 citations.
How are MCDA methods like SAW and COPRAS compared?
"The Comparative Analysis of MCDA Methods SAW and COPRAS" by Podvezko (2011) evaluates these methods for ranking alternatives in technological and socio-economic processes based on significance. SAW and COPRAS are used for comparative evaluation of complex options. The work received 389 citations.
What role does fuzzy AHP play in construction site selection?
"A Hybrid Model Based on Fuzzy AHP and Fuzzy WASPAS for Construction Site Selection" by Turskis, Zavadskas, Antuchevičienė, and Kosareva (2015) combines fuzzy AHP and WASPAS for multi-attribute performance measurement in site selection. This hybrid addresses construction decisions under uncertainty. It has 281 citations.
Open Research Questions
- ? How can interval-based attribute values be optimized for sustainable dwelling construction beyond current MCDM applications?
- ? What adaptations of MULTIMOORA are needed for non-European transition economies?
- ? How do change point analysis techniques from "Parametric Statistical Change Point Analysis" integrate with socio-economic sustainability metrics?
- ? Which hybrid fuzzy models extend beyond construction to regional energy efficiency planning?
- ? How might business demography statistics from Eurostat-OECD inform predictive MCDM for entrepreneurship in knowledge economies?
Recent Trends
The field maintains 9,491 works with no specified 5-year growth rate available.
Top citations cluster around MCDM methods from 2008-2015, led by Keršulienė et al. at 1,387 for SWARA and Zavadskas et al. (2014) at 831 for MCDM surveys, showing sustained interest in multi-attribute tools for economics and sustainability.
2010No recent preprints or news in the last 12 months indicate stable rather than expanding activity.
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