20.500.12556/RUL-171096 Exploring the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on sustainable development goals 8 and 9 insights from four European Union countries Against the backdrop of deepening globalization and regional cooperation, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has emerged as a key pathway for promoting sustainable development. However, existing research primarily focuses on its macroeconomic impacts, with limited systematic analysis of its mechanisms in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) 8 and 9. This study addresses these gaps by developing an analytical framework that incorporates industrial upgrading, policy responsiveness, cultural identification, and economic dependence. Using a difference-in- differences (DID) model and panel data from Poland, Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia covering the period 2009–2022, the empirical analysis reveals that the BRI significantly advances SDGs 8 and 9 in host countries primarily through promoting industrial upgrading. Further findings show that higher levels of policy responsiveness and cultural identification substantially enhance policy effectiveness, while economic dependence follows an inverted U-shaped curve—indicating that moderate dependence fosters development, whereas excessive dependence introduces risks. Based on these results, this study recommends improving policy responsiveness through joint governance mechanisms, institutionalizing cultural cooperation to enhance identification, and optimizing economic dependence structures to facilitate institutional embeddedness and sustainable development within the BRI framework. Belt and Road Initiative cultural identification inverted U-shaped relationship policy responsiveness sustainable development goals 8 goals 9 2009-2022 true false true Angleški jezik Ni določen Članek v reviji 2025-08-04 13:14:58 2025-08-04 13:15:02 2025-12-11 04:39:41 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 Str. 8251-8273 iss. 6 Vol. 33 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 33:[502.131.1:625] 0968-0802 10.1002/sd.70077 244747267 Sustainable_Development_-_2025_-_Hu_-_Exploring_the_Impact_of_the_Belt_and_Road_Initiative_on_Sustainable_Development_Goals.pdf Sustainable_Development_-_2025_-_Hu_-_Exploring_the_Impact_of_the_Belt_and_Road_Initiative_on_Sustainable_Development_Goals.pdf 1 F69D704E728D69DC795AA08A0F416D32 308f65771b4458896daa9b6e45e734de39b73820a067ce815748239ede72d323 ef934023-d5c2-11f0-9328-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=223262 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sd.70077 0 b845cb61-d5c2-11f0-9328-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=223261 Fakulteta za upravo Fakulteta za družbene vede 0 0 0