Assessing circular economy performance of european countries and serbia using data envelopment analysis

Abstract

The circular economic system concentrates on closing the loop for resource flows by imitating the function of natural ecosystems in order to achieve sustainability. The aim of the paper is to introduce a comprehensive approach to assessing countries' performance in municipal waste management and utilization. The change in the efficiency of circular economy in the period from 2016 to 2019 has been analyzed using Data Envelopment Analysis model. Furthermore, Tobit regression model examined the influence of macroeconomic factors on achieved efficiency scores. Results indicate that the performance of the circular economy has an admirable level of efficiency level, as the average score is above 70%. Belgium, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden obtained the highest efficiency levels, while Greece and Cyprus experienced the lowest efficiency scores. The positive observation is that countries efficiency mainly has an ascending trend. Furthermore, the second stage analysis showed that resource productivity, private investments, jobs and gross value added related to the circular economy sector and GDP per capita significantly influence the efficiency of circular economy performance.

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