Local content policies: Knowledge stock and future directions for research and policy making in view of the sustainability agenda

Abstract

Local content policies (LCPs) aim to create opportunities for employment and economic development, and to shield from the “resource curse” and enclave extractivism. LCPs are of ongoing policy interest in resource-rich countries and, more recently, have attracted attention in countries attempting to develop their renewable energy sources. The sustainable development agenda set by the global and regional initiatives, such as the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, call for a fresh look at the targets and priorities set by LCPs, e.g., extend to environmental and/or climate change action targets. This article aims to connect in a meaningful way the scientific knowledge on LCPs and evidence-based policy making with the sustainability agenda imperatives. The target is met with the: i) completion of a systematic state-of-the-art literature review and bibliometric analysis to assess and synthesize the accumulated stock of knowledge on LCPs and ii) SDGs mapping onto the LCPs. Τhe review identifies the core approaches and LCPs' assessment outcomes, indicating the plethora of findings. Results show that the relationship between LCPs and the sustainability agenda has not yet been properly analyzed in the literature, identifying thus a gap between research and contemporary policy making. The research community should be proactive: rather than just assessing LCPs' implementation, it should propose alternatives and updates to LCPs in line with the sustainability agenda. The article contributes to this direction by mapping the SDGs onto the LCPs, suggesting ways to advance research in this field and to support evidence-based policy making.