The Role of Technological Progress in Social Development: Evidence from Europe in the Light of Sustainable Development Goals

his study aims to analyze the relationships between two vari­ables associated with the growth of modern economies: technological prog­ress and social development. The research intends to test these relations with­in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN in 2015 in order to achieve the preservation of the planet, the welfare of the popula­tion, peace and prosperity. To this end, the research analyzes the correlations, within the European Union, between technological progress and social devel­opment in the period 2015-2021, that is from the year in which the 2030 Agen­da for Sustainable Development was adopted by the United Nations Mem­ber States to today. The variables representative of technological progress are drawn from the indicators belonging to Goal 9 – Industry, Innovation and In­frastructure, while for social development the study referred to the indica­tors of Goal 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth. The results show that, al­though the two phenomena are positively correlated, not all connections are equally strong.