Search

This paper addresses the need to understand the structure of sustainability change in the face of the unpredictability of modern civilization. The aim of the paper is to examine the structure of sustainability change in relation to smaller spatial units such as the regions of the European Union and to compare these results with those achieved at the country level. For this purpose, the sustainable development indicators available in the Eurostat database were analyzed. Studies published to date have tended to focus on the performance of national economies or selected regions. In this article, the available data on regions are also analyzed. The study aims to compare the level of sustainable development achieved at the level of EU countries and regions located within them. Methodologically, the study uses advanced methods of comparative analysis, and the synthesis of the data enables the construction of a synthetic measure using taxonomic methods, facilitating the classification of EU countries and regions into clusters. The results highlight significant divergences in sustainability achievements between EU countries and regions. The study reveals the importance of studying sustainable development in smaller geographical cross-sections. The results highlight the need to expand access to data at the regional level (sustainability indicators) to facilitate more comprehensive analyses and inform targeted policy interventions. Looking to the future, the study recommends further research into the inter-linkages between sustainability and other critical areas in EU regions, such as innovation and competitiveness., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of the study is to determine the pace and directions of changes (understood as: improvement or deterioration) occurring in selected areas of sustainable development of EU Member States. The paper analyzes dynamics of changes in selected areas of sustainable development monitored on the basis of headline indicators published by Eurostat from 2008 to 2015. In the paper, three variants of reference points of synthetic measure of development were considered. On the basis of the obtained results, the countries in which the improvement in the sustainable development and its deterioration can be observed were identified. The results have confirmed the existence of significant developmental disparities between EU Member States in this field, but it should be noted that the obtained results depend on the methodological approach both to the selection of features and the adoption of a specific standardization formula, as well as the considered variants of reference points. The results obtained can be utilized in subsequent years to examine the directions of change observed both from the point of view of European Union as one organization, and the individual EU Member States.

The European Union's climate policy aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. One of the instruments for achieving these climate goals is the development of offshore wind energy. Unfortunately, Poland, as one of the few European Union countries with access to the sea, does not have offshore wind farms yet. The purpose of this article is to determine the importance of offshore wind energy for the development of Poland based on the example of two sea regions: the West Pomeranian and Pomeranian Voivodeships. This article uses the input–output method to determine the economic effects of offshore wind power. The region's share in the supply chain was determined based on the location of the offshore wind energy sector. A comparative analysis with the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm in France made it possible to show the differences between the studied locations. The supply chain share of the regions surveyed was 2.28% and 6.00% in the CAPEX phase and 5.98% and 8.23% in the OPEX phase. The annual average global value in the CAPEX phase at the country level was EUR 2793 million, and at the regional level, EUR 243 million and EUR 663 million. In the OPEX phase, the corresponding values are EUR 2106 million, EUR 223 million and EUR 663 million. The average annual employment in the CAPEX phase at the national level amounted to 26,323 jobs and at the regional level, 1953 and 5804. In the OPEX phase, employment amounted to 4790, 558 and 751 jobs, respectively. On the other hand, the average annual value added in the CAPEX phase at the national level was EUR 1221 million, and at the regional level, it was EUR 106 million and EUR 290 million. In the OPEX phase, it was EUR 920 million, EUR 97 million and EUR 239 million, respectively. While not all of the findings are conclusive, in general, the domestic offshore wind industry has weaker economic linkages and lower wage levels than the location adopted for comparison. It uses more labour-intensive economic sectors with lower OPEX value added. The results of the analyses presented in this paper are of crucial importance not only for Poland, as their advantage is the possibility to present, from an economic point of view, the profitability of this type of investment in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental degradation is currently one of the biggest challenges for policy makers designing public policies. In particular, the emission of greenhouse gases as side effect of human activity is a significant problem. One of the methods and instruments used in the public sector to limit the progressing environmental degradation are environmental taxes. It is an element of fiscal policy used by countries around the world, including in the European Union, although it has no compulsory nature. So far, studies on the effectiveness of environmental taxes are not explicit. The effects of environmental taxes differ in EU countries, also environmental taxes systems are of different construction, and tax policies in this scope vary as well. This paper uses the taxonomic measure based on the Weber median to analyse the link between environmental taxes and environmental degradation. 23 EU countries belonging to OECD were analysed for 2016, on the basis of the Eurostat dataset. The study attempts to answer the question whether environmental taxes are an effective instrument for shaping environmental policy and whether they can become an important tool in the decision-making process at the government level. The paper assumes that the role of environmental taxes and their impact is different in developed and converging economies. The results prove a positive relationship between environmental taxes and environmental performance in the case of one indicator (Share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption) for others a negative link is reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Until recently, the sustainable development indicators published by Eurostat were divided into 10 thematic areas. Currently apart of this division, the new indicators system divided into 17 objectives of the Sustainable Development Strategy according The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been published. The analyses presented in this paper are concentrated on the previous system of division of sustainable development indicators. The indicators in this database are divided into 3 levels reflecting their hierarchy: headline, operational and explanatory level of indicators. The purpose of the paper is a comparative analysis of relationship between the results achieved by individual EU Member States based on hierarchical structure of indicators published by Eurostat. Such a way of analysing sustainable development indicators has not been yet practiced in the literature in this field. The value added of the paper to the current state of knowledge in this field is the opportunity not only to determine, for example, the position occupied by individual Member States within individual areas of sustainable development monitored by Eurostat, but also to analyse interrelationships occurring within particular levels of monitoring of the Sustainable Development Strategy. According to the results of the research, differences in the ranking of EU Member States on the consecutive levels of monitoring the sustainable development strategy for different areas can be observed. In line with the hierarchical method of presenting the sustainable development indicators adopted by Eurostat, state rankings were prepared for each selected indicators aggregation level. For this purpose, a taxonomic measure of development based on Weber median vector was used. The results obtained clearly present the relatively low level of correlation between the results obtained by individual EU Member States on the subsequent levels of monitoring the implementation of EU strategy. This way of hierarchical analysis can be also used in the analysis based on indicators elaborated for The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Research background: The basic question we ask is whether is it possible to talk in today's globalizing world about the uniform of the competitiveness of the economies? Posing such questions is particularly important in the case of political and economic structures such as the European Union. The competitiveness of the economies is now one of the most frequently discussed topics. In this work, due to the context of the conducted research (international comparisons of the EU countries' economies) the competitiveness of international economies will be considered in terms of international competitive capacity. In addition to the problems associated with defining this concept, there are also important dilemmas concerned with the measurement of the competitiveness. In the performed comparative analyses of European economies the research results presented within reports of „Global Competitiveness Index" will be used. Purpose of the article: The main purpose of the paper is to conduct a multidimensional comparative analysis of the competitive capacity of the European Union countries and geographical regions of Europe. Methods: In the paper, to study the spatial differentiation of the EU countries and geographical regions of Europe in the context of their competitive capacity, the taxonomic measure of development based on median vector Weber was used. Findings & Value added: As a result, the classification and the typological groups of EU countries and geographical regions of Europe calculated on the basis of the features describing their competitive capacity arises. The value added of these research is the analysis of competitive capacity conducted not only for EU countries, but also for geographical regions of Europe. In the paper, the verification of criteria using by World Economic Forum to assess the competitive capacity of EU economies was also conducted. In this area of the research, because of high level of correlation, many features from initial database were deleted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is a comparative analysis of the disparities between EU Member States regarding the uniformity of the observed changes in the field of sustainable development. In order to fulfil the purpose the relatively dynamic taxonomy has been applied. In the work the key indicators of the Sustainable Development analysis have been used. Application of relative measures enabled to assess the situation of a given country in relation to all other countries. According to the research relatively high levels of dis-proportionality between the EU Member States in the field of sustainable development can be observed. Surprisingly the greatest deterioration was observed between Southern European countries and not as could be expected between Western and Northern ones. The leaders throughout the period of analysis were the Netherlands and France, which clearly stood out in favor of the other countries. The least favorable positions were taken by Malta and Bulgaria, which were at the end of the all rankings. The results obtained can be utilized in subsequent years to examine the directions of change observed both from the point of view of individual EU Member States and geographical regions of Europe in the area of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of clusters seems to be a natural consequence of the observed trends in the global economy. The increased interest in the creation and development of clusters can also be seen in most of the countries of the European Union, however, the experience of EU countries in this field is different. In addition to strong clusters with a long tradition, new clusters are created with much lower potential. Clusters compatible with the most important EU documents are to play the role of organizations supporting regional development and ensuring the growth of innovation of the European Union in the new programming period. The Japanese economy is based on the important role of clusters in this area, which along with the US and the European Union is among the largest economies in the world. The experience of Japan in this area is much longer. A lot of still functioning clusters were created in this country in the XVII and XVIII centuries. The aim of this study is a comparative analysis of the socio-economic situation of the European Union and Japan, with special emphasis on the role that clusters play in those economies. The result of the analysis is to identify the factors that allow for the effective operation of enterprises within created cluster structures. The analysis of Japan's experience in this area is a valuable source of information for policy guidelines developed to support clusters in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new approach to research on the green transformation of EU countries was proposed. • A profound analysis of current level of green transformation in EU was conducted. • Development patterns of green transformation of EU countries were described. Green transformation has become one of the most important directions in the further development of the world. It involves the development of green technologies and the creation of legal regulations enforcing, for example, saving energy or reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases, as well as any other activities aimed at changing society's attitude towards the acceptance of – frequently more expensive but more environment-friendly – technological solutions and legal norms. Thus green transformation can be defined as combining economic growth with caring about the environment in order to guarantee a high quality of life for present and future generations at the level which is attainable due to civilisational development, as well as to an effective and rational use of the available resources. Still, there is no single globally accepted way to this transformation. It is proceeding in a variety of ways and depends on many different factors. The main purpose of the paper is a comparative analysis of the directions of changes occurring in the process of green transformation in EU countries. The added value of the research presented in the paper and its novelty is the analysis of the current patterns of green transformation in EU countries. The paper concentrated on recognizing them and drawing attention to the unfavourable directions of this transformation as well as to its positive aspects. The changes in the process of green transformation were analysed based on data used by the OECD to describe green growth in two periods: 2004 or 2005 as initial data and the last available data (usually 2018 or 2019). For this purpose the TOPSIS method was applied. The EU countries were divided into groups according to their way of applying green transformation. The provided research allows to better understand the course of this transformation in various EU countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Factors for sustainable e-commerce development in the EU cities was indicated. • A Promethee technic for measuring the sustainability of e-commerce was applied. • An increase in online shopping in cities may affect environmental degradation. The e-commerce market in cities is currently one of the fastest-growing markets. By observing the current changes taking place in it, we have a unique opportunity to learn about its potential development directions in the future with great acceleration. Some of the recent changes caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have a chance to affect this market's development in the coming years permanently. The paper's primary purpose is to identify relationships between factors that could significantly impact sustainable e-commerce development in cities, mainly including environmental issues, on the example of the European Union Countries. For this purpose, five groups of factors (criteria), based on literature, were selected: e-commerce drivers (Internet and mobile access, macroeconomic conditions and social aspects in the country), criteria describing the e-commerce market in cities, and criteria that assess the impact of the development of the e-commerce market in cities on the environment were assessed. According to the authors' proposal, the relationships between these groups of factors were verified, taking into account the network model of connections. For this purpose, the multi-criteria decision-making method with the use of the PROMETHEE technique has been applied. The research results presented in the paper confirmed that the relations between the analyzed groups of criteria are complex. In most countries, high positions in the rankings containing criteria describing the so-called drivers of the e-commerce market also translate into high places in the order describing this market's development. At the same time, those countries where the e-commerce activity in cities is high present lower environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the paper is to present a proposal to measure the relationships between Goal 7 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and one of the areas considered in the green growth concept: environmental production efficiency. Both of these areas illustrate the relationship between the natural environment and the economy, emphasizing transformations in the field of energy use. Selected taxonomic methods, TOPSIS, and multicriteria taxonomy, were applied to study the relationships between the two areas. The results of the EU countries classification showed a variety of countries' development pathways within a single economic community. Despite continued attempts to equalize the development levels between European Union countries in many strategic areas, they remain highly diversified. That is also true for the areas analyzed in the paper, which is a disturbing situation, indicating that both strategies might not correlate in all respects. Further research into the relationships linking the remaining dimensions of both strategies is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel proposal for comparing European regions in the field of innovation was presented. • A new approach for measuring innovation performance of European regions which can be used in the future was proposed. • A profound analysis of the literature review in the field of measurement of innovation on the regional level was carried out. • Further directions for estimation of innovation in regional scale were indicated. The main purpose of the study is to present a new approach to comparing EU regions according to their level of innovation. For many years, different organizations have published reports related to the innovation level of EU countries and regions. Usually, taxonomic methods are used to measure development in this area. The main disadvantage of this approach is that it offers an assessment of EU innovation level based only on the mean, while the main goal of this kind of analysis should include an assessment of results compatibility obtained in different areas constituting a composite measure. For this purpose, a different procedure based on the multi-criteria taxonomic method is proposed. In this method, the innovation level of every object (in the paper, EU regions) is assessed using results obtained in every group of indicators taken into account for this purpose. This means that EU regions can be divided into groups according their level of innovation in all considered areas, not only according to their mean value of development. This is the basic advantage of this type of analysis. An added value of the considerations presented in the paper is the possibility of obtaining supplementary information about the internal structure of the innovation of socio-economic objects. It should be emphasized that such analysis is a new approach to this kind of assessment. The results are especially relevant to associations such as the European Union, in which internal cohesion is one of its strategic developmental goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]