Vahid Mohamad Taghvaee - Department of Economic Development and Planning, Faculty of Management and Economics, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran; Chair of Growth Economics, Structural Change, and Trade, Faculty of Law and Economics, Greifswald University, Greifswald,
Abbas Assari Arani - Department of Economic Development and Planning, Faculty of Management and Economics, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Susanne Soretz - Chair of Growth Economics, Structural Change, and Trade, Faculty of Law and Economics, Greifswald University, Greifswald, Germany.
Lotfali Agheli - Economic Research Institute, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

In ۲۰۱۵, the United Nations (UN) launched a unique platform, including ۱۷ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for improving global sustainability. However, it remains ambiguous whether globalization as a result of the UN agenda is beneficial for (or detrimental to) global sustainability. This study aims to investigate if globalization and openness are helpful for sustainability. To this aim, our research estimates the elasticities of sustainable development pillars between two regions of MENA and Europe as a case study from ۱۹۷۱ to ۲۰۱۶. It uses the econometric methodology to develop the SEY model which includes a simultaneous equations system, Granger causality, and VAR. The results show that the spatial sustainability elasticities are mostly positive between MENA and Europe, confirming the constructive role of globalization and openness on sustainability. The policymakers are advised to follow flow-based governance to tackle sustainable development issues. Thus, the unique global agenda of the UN has sufficient capability to improve sustainable development in the world.

sustainability, Sustainable Development, spillover, Globalization, Openness