Cross-border interactions on the sustainable development between global countries

United Nations proposed 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), which can be impacted by both local effects within a local country and cross-border interactions from other countries. Yet few scholars explored cross-border interactions on the overall SDG performance (SDG index) between countries. This study employed the spatial dynamic data model to examine cross-border interactions as well as local effects across 121 countries throughout 2005-2020. The crucial aspect of this model was constructing the connection channel between countries, represented by a spatial weight matrix. This study proposed a dynamic hybrid matrix based on geographic distance and time-variant international trade, instead of only incorporating geographical factors. Furthermore, total impacts were decomposed into local effects and cross-border interactions. A key finding showed that a 10 % increase in SDG performance (SDG index) of countries with geographic and international trade proximity can facilitate a 1.154 % improvement in that of a local country. In light of this, this study provided a practical policy recommendation, establishing regional collaboration platforms for not only neighboring countries but also trade partners.