Evaluating dynamics of national economies through cluster analysis within the input-state-output sustainability framework

•The input-state-output indicator framework is used to study system sustainability.•The interconnection of environmental, social and economic aspects is shown.•Ex-post cross country assessment of sustainability is performed for 83 nations.•Patterns and traps are identified in 2000 and 2008 cluster analysis.•The framework is repeatable varying nations, time frames and triads of indicators.

In this paper a cluster analysis is applied to an input-state-output indicator framework that represents the interconnection of the three aspects of sustainability, namely environmental, social and economic. This framework is a useful and comprehensive tool for assessing country performances over time and improving guidelines for the classification of countries under a sustainability perspective. The method enables identification of trends and traps that characterize the evolution of countries over time. The analysis is performed for 83 countries in 2000 and 2008 in order to observe system behaviour and development patterns.

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