Prior to the 2016 Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations (UN) had eight "global goals" set out to all 191 UN member states at that time, and at least 22 international organizations. Seven out of the eight United National Millennium Development Goals are social goals. The attainment of such goals would require a substantial proportion of public sector expenditure. Without a robust rate of economic growth, whatever is achieved cannot be sustainable. Developmental State and Millennium Development Goals argues that this is the main reason why some of the largest developing countries fell short in achieving the goals.
