The relationship between the Living Standards Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals

Those familiar with both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Treasury's Living Standards Framework (LSF) have often asked us what the relationship is between the two. This paper, drawing on work done by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), provides an answer to that question. While there are conceptual differences between the two - the SDGs are a set of policy goals, the LSF a framework for thinking about wellbeing - there is a large degree of overlap. This paper shows that each of the SDGs relate to an aspect of the LSF, while three of the LSF's domains of wellbeing do not map well to an SDG (though even here, the flexible nature of the SDGs mean it would not be hard to adapt SDG reporting processes to include these areas).