An innovative approach to evaluating sustainable development performance: The case of Turkey

The assessment of sustainable development necessitates precise productivity measurement. Existing literature reveals a wide array of methods employed for this purpose. However, these approaches give rise to concerns regarding the accurate assessment of both efficiency (EC) and technical (TC) changes. Additionally, the data used for productivity measurement are often subject to uncertainty. In response to these shortcomings in the existing literature, this study introduces the Environmental Fuzzy Malmquist Total Factor Productivity (EFM) index for productivity measurement. Within this framework, the study aims to assess Turkey's environmental sensitivity and sustainable development performance using the proposed EFM index. To achieve this goal, the study first constructs the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI), considering undesirable environmental pollution variables related to air, water, and soil pollution. Subsequently, the ESI is integrated with the Fuzzy Malmquist Total Factor Productivity Index (FM) to develop the new EFM index. The proposed integrated EFM index exhibits an enhanced ability to evaluate both EC and TC while addressing the challenges stemming from uncertainty. The proposed integrated EFM index indicates that the Marmara and Aegean regions of Turkey demonstrate the highest level of sustainable development performance. Finally, the study offers recommendations and policies to assist developing countries in enhancing their sustainable development performance.