USE OF STATISTICAL MODELS TO EVALUATE THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF DIVISIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEMS IN SRI LANKA

Developing a suitable composite indicator to evaluate the sustainable development generated in the context of Sri Lanka would enable us to use it as a vision of a multidimensional phenomenon. It will allow for the setting of national benchmarks and further international comparisons among regional development. In addition, that would be a great platform for analysis and discussion of sustainable development concept in Sri Lanka. The core objective of the study was to develop new statistical models to evaluate the sustainable development generated in the context of Sri  Lanka. To introduce the measurement as a key indicator to measure sustainable development  and to identify the major sectors, one should address issues in achieving sustainable development. To evaluate the development quality according to the personal aspect and to create the recommendations for future policies to achieve the regional sustainable development in the context of Sri Lanka were the primary objectives. The study has been done under two main sections to achieve the identified objectives. Under the first part of the study, a composite indicator was built using existing sub indicators to identify the sustainable development generated in the context of Sri Lanka. The second part of the study objected to build sustainable development quality indicator in the context of Sri Lanka according to the personal aspects. The first part of the study is based on the secondary data that related to three districts; Matara, Galle and Hambanthota in Southern province, Sri Lanka. The data is \ gathered as existing sub-indicators published annually by Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka from district statistical handbook published in 2020. The primary data that was collected through a survey has been used to build up the second part of the study. The election registration list of selected Grama Niraladhari divisions of all forty-seven divisional secretariats’ divisions in the three districts of Southern province is used as the sampling frame of the study. Thousand (𝑛 = 1,000) respondents were selected as sample units. A two-stage systematic sampling technique has been utilized to collect primary data of the study. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential analytical techniques. The inferential analysis was conducted by using multivariate analysis techniques. The weighted factor analysis, principal component analysis and structural  equation modeling were used to develop the final version of composite indicators by using the statistical software SPSS and R. According to the results of proposed composite index, Four Gravets (G14), Galle district achieved the first place in ranking with high development status compared to the other divisions in the province. The findings demonstrate a strong and positive relationship between the constructions of the scales of economic, social, human, and environmental development and the quality of sustainable development. The findings of this  study provide government officials and decision makers in Sri Lanka, in particular, with valuable recommendations for understanding how various elements impact the execution of the quality of sustainable development.

Key words: Composite index, Sustainable development, Multivariate analysis, Regional  development