Sustainable Development Performance Analysis with SIWEC-M and RAWEC

This research assesses Turkey's sustainable development performance from 2011 to 2021 through an innovative integrated multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework. The methodology integrates three objective weighting methods [SIWEC-M, MEREC, and Standard Variance (SV)] with the RAWEC method for the purpose of ranking alternative years. The SIWEC-M method, an enhancement of the SIWEC, was designed to address the zero-weight limitation present in the original method, thereby providing more balanced and reliable criteria weighting. The results indicate that inflation is the primary factor influencing Turkey's sustainability trajectory, whereas the Social Development Index (SDI) has the least impact. The analysis identifies 2011 as the apex year for Turkey's sustainable development, succeeded by 2013, 2015, and 2016, while 2021 is noted as the year of lowest performance. A sensitivity analysis based on Monte Carlo simulation further confirms the robustness of the results across different criterion weights. The consistency of the proposed methodology was validated through a comparison of outcomes with established MCDM techniques, including ARAS, COPRAS, and WASPAS, which yielded identical rankings. This study enhances the SIWEC-M model methodologically and provides empirical insights for policymakers regarding Turkey’s sustainable development dynamics, highlighting the significance of macroeconomic factors such as inflation. The study identifies structural vulnerabilities in Turkey's sustainability performance, informing future policy interventions to enhance economic and social resilience.