**6. Conclusion**

This study is a synthesis of arguments on economic, social, and environmental dimensions of development with empirical testing in the case of Sudan. The outcome of the study confirms that social and environmental indicators, together with investment, (un)employment, and trade openness, lead to economic growth measured by GDP and not the vice versa. That is, in whatsoever level of economic development achieved, the social progress indicators have been the main sources and not the factors of production as conventionally subtracted in physical capital and formal labor. This social factor-based economic development has also been backed with the use of natural environmental assets and amenities. Such findings have important policy implications for achieving development as an objective and on rethinking the real factor that has been leading to economic development in lowincome countries such as Sudan, regardless of how small it has been. Although our findings are more on aggregate measures, they are in conformity with Hassan et al. [12], who found that social spending leads to an increase in GDP per capita and that an increase in primary education by 1% is associated with a growth by 0.8%, whereas health capital is found to have negative but insignificant effect. Accordingly we make the following general recommendations:

Spending on health and education has to be increased and be reverted in a social finance transition from a predominantly heavily burdened private and household sector to the government. Access to basic sanitation and drinking water facilities needs to be improved majorly, which contributes to health and education achievements. There is a need for planned gradual shifting of trade composition from export of environmental and primary products to high value added manufactured goods. On the other hand, there is an urgent need to regulate imports in favor of capital goods and equipments away from the imports of consumption goods particularly the luxurious ones. Efforts to adapt renewable energy sources should be enhanced, particularly in solar and wind energy which can be seen as the most possible investment for expansion access to modern energies in remote and rural areas of Sudan. These recommendations can be designed into operational polices and can be monitored in line with the guidelines provided by the OECD [13], in its *Policy Framework for Investment*.
