CO2 emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in the EU countries: Evidence from threshold cointegration analysis

The European Green Deal considers the increase in the share of renewable energy in final energy consumption (REFEC) among the main targets for achieving sustainable EU economies. In this context, the main aim of this paper is to provide an empirical evaluation of the relationship between GDP, global competitiveness index (GCI) and renewable energy consumption. According to panel data models based on the fully modified ordinary least squares method (FMOLS), there is a positive effect of renewable energy consumption progress on GDP and GCI growth, and also a positive influence of economic growth on renewable energy consumption in the period 2007–2019 in the EU countries. The energy consumption is more influenced by economic growth rather than economic competitiveness. Few scenarios were proposed for economic growth and share of renewable sources (RESs) in the final consumption using as forecasting method the proposed panel data models. The cluster analysis suggested two groups of countries according to RES share in gross final energy consumption (GFEC). The first group includes six countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Portugal and Austria) that fixed a target of 30% or more, while the second one refers to countries with lower targets. Some policy recommendations are provided for the EU countries to enhance the utilization of renewable energy.

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Changes in Energy Consumption in Agriculture in the EU Countries

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14061570 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 1570

Author(s):

Tomasz Rokicki ◽

Aleksandra Perkowska ◽

Bogdan Klepacki ◽

Piotr Bórawski ◽

Aneta Bełdycka-Bórawska ◽

...

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Correlation Coefficient ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Energy Sources ◽

The European Union ◽

Eu Countries ◽

Research Hypothesis ◽

The Eu

The paper’s main purpose was to identify and present the current situation and changes in energy consumption in agriculture in the European Union (EU) countries. The specific objectives were the determination of the degree of concentration of energy consumption in agriculture in the EU countries, showing the directions of their changes, types of energy used, and changes in this respect, establishing the correlation between energy consumption and changes in the economic and agricultural situation in the EU countries. All member states of the European Union were deliberately selected for research on 31 December 2018 (28 countries). The research period covered the years 2005–2018. The sources of materials were the literature on the subject, and data from Eurostat. Descriptive, tabular, and graphical methods were used to analyze and present materials, dynamics indicators with a stable base, Gini concentration coefficient, concentration analysis using the Lorenz curve, coefficient of variation, Kendall’s tau correlation coefficient, and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. A high concentration of energy consumption in agriculture was found in several EU countries, the largest in countries with the largest agricultural sector, i.e., France and Poland. There were practically no changes in the concentration level. Only in the case of renewable energy, a gradual decrease in concentration was visible. More and more countries developed technologies that allow the use of this type of energy. However, the EU countries differed in terms of the structure of the energy sources used. The majority of the basis was liquid fuels, while stable and gaseous fuels were abandoned in favor of electricity and renewable sources—according to which, in the EU countries, the research hypothesis was confirmed: a gradual diversification of energy sources used in agriculture, with a systematic increase in the importance of renewable energy sources. The second research hypothesis was also confirmed, according to which the increase in the consumption of renewable energy in agriculture is closely related to the economy’s parameters. The use of renewable energy is necessary and results from concern for the natural environment. Therefore, economic factors may have a smaller impact.

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Assessment of the Dependence of GHG Emissions on the Support and Taxes in the EU Countries

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13147650 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 7650

Author(s):

Astrida Miceikienė ◽

Kristina Gesevičienė ◽

Daiva Rimkuvienė

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Empirical Study ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Gdp Per Capita ◽

Environmental Taxes ◽

Environmental Support ◽

Eu Countries ◽

Support Measures ◽

Per Capita ◽

The Eu

The reduction of GHG emissions is one of the priorities of the EU countries. The majority of studies show that financial support and environmental taxes are one of the most effective measures for the mitigation of the negative consequences of climate change. The EU countries employ different environmental support measures and environmental taxes to reduce GHG emissions. There is a shortage of new studies on these measures. The aim of the present study is to compare the effectiveness of the environmental support measures of the EU countries with the effectiveness of environmental taxes in relation to the reduction of GHG emissions. This study is characterized by the broad scope of its data analysis and its systematic approach to the EU’s environmental policy measures. An empirical study was performed for the EU countries with the aim of addressing this research problem and substantiating theoretical insights. A total of 27 EU member states from 2009 to 2018 were selected as research samples. The research is based on a cause-and-effect relationship, where the factors affecting environmental pollution (environmental taxes and subsidies) are the cause, and GHG emissions are the effect. Statistical research methods were used in the empirical study: descriptive statistics, the Shapiro–Wilk test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), simple regression and cluster analysis. The results show that the older member countries of the EU, which had directed the financial measures of environmental policy towards a reduction in energy consumption, managed to achieve a greater reduction in GHG emissions compared to the countries which had not applied those measures. The Central and Eastern European countries are characterized by lower environmental taxes and lower expenditure allocated to environmental protection. The countries with a higher GDP per capita have greater GHG emissions that the countries with lower GDP per capita. This is associated with greater consumption, waste, and energy consumption. The study conducted gives rise to a discussion regarding data sufficiency in the assessment and forecasting of GHG emissions and their environmental consequences.

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Tendencies and Relations of Defense Spending and Economic Growth in the EU Countries

Engineering Economics ◽

10.5755/j01.ee.27.3.15395 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gitana Dudzeviciute ◽

Kestutis Peleckis ◽

Valentina Peleckiene

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Defense Spending ◽

Eu Countries ◽

The Eu

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Does Renewable Energy Matter for Economic Growth in Central and Eastern European Countries? Empirical Evidence from Heterogeneous Panel Cointegration Analysis

Studia Universitatis „Vasile Goldis” Arad – Economics Series ◽

10.2478/sues-2021-0003 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 34-59

Author(s):

Olimpia Neagu ◽

Cristian Haiduc ◽

Andrei Anghelina

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Panel Cointegration ◽

Cointegration Analysis ◽

Eastern European ◽

Renewable Energy Consumption ◽

Eastern European Countries ◽

Heterogeneous Panel

AbstractThe aim of the paper is to provide empirical evidence in support of the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in eleven Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries over the period 1995-2015 within a multivariate panel data analysis. Based on World Bank data, the panel cointegration analysis reveals that renewable energy consumption and economic growth are positively associated in the long run in CEE countries. The heterogeneous panel causality test indicates a bi-directional causality relationship in support of the feedback hypothesis between economic growth and renewable energy consumption in Central and Eastern European countries.

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Changes in the fiscal policy of EU states after the 2008 crisis

International Journal of Management and Economics ◽

10.2478/ijme-2019-0004 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 55 (1) ◽

pp. 52-65 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Witold Wiliński

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Fiscal Policy ◽

European Parliament ◽

Steady Increase ◽

Fiscal Policies ◽

National Debt ◽

Eu Countries ◽

Fiscal Compact ◽

The Eu ◽

Debt Levels

Abstract The aim of this article is an extensive presentation of the fiscal policy conducted by the EU states in the years 2008–2015. The analysis concerns the legal regulations introduced at the EU level by the European Parliament and the Council, as well as the fiscal policies of governments of particular states. The first part of the article analyzes basic macroeconomic data in EU states concerning the level of debt, the level of gross domestic product (GDP) redistribution, and the level of economic growth in the analyzed period. The second part discusses the legal acts adopted by the European Parliament and the Council (the so-called ‘sixpack’ and the European Fiscal Compact), aimed at improving macroeconomic balance and ensuring supervision over the proper functioning of national finances. The third part analyzes the discretionary fiscal policies pursued in EU states. The main conclusions of this article are as follows: (i) EU countries recorded higher national debt levels and debt growth rates between 2008 and 2015 than most non-EU Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries; (ii) despite legal measures taken by the European Council and the European Commission in the form of the sixpack and the European Fiscal Compact, and despite discretionary fiscal measures such as in the form of the European Economic Recovery Plan, five EU countries (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) have experienced a steady increase in their national debt levels; and (iii) deep reforms in the composition and level of government expenditure are a prerequisite for reducing national debt levels and for achieving satisfactory economic growth in these countries.

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SMART GROWTH PROGRESS IN EUROPEAN UNION: A COHESION APPROACH

Bulletin of the Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design Series Economic sciences ◽

10.30857/2413-0117.2019.2.3 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 133 (2) ◽

pp. 41-49

Author(s):

Viktor Kozlovskij

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Economic Development ◽

Tertiary Education ◽

Smart Growth ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Member States ◽

Eu Countries ◽

Development Level ◽

Growth Indicators ◽

The Eu

Economic development and socioeconomic cohesion have always been an object of scientific research. In particular, this issue had become a focus of attention after EU enlargement in 2004 and Great Recession in 2007–2009. The above changes have given way to a certain slowdown in economic growth in most EU countries along with triggering a range of divergence processes between EU countries and regions. As a response to situation, the EU offered a Europe 2020 strategy, in which smart growth was mentioned as one of critical instruments to deal with increasing menaces. The objective of the study is to evaluate the progress of the main smart growth indicators (investment in research and development (R&D), employment rate and share of population obtaining tertiary education) in the EU over the period 2001–2017 within the framework of the economic cohesion concept. The paper seeks to explore the EU from different perspectives. First, the EU new member states (EU-10) and the old ones (EU-14) were compared. Second, the EU countries were divided by economic development level (calculated by GDP per capita in PPP): highly developed (H-7), medium developed (M-7) and less developed (L-7) countries. Finally, aggregate cohesion indices of all three smart growth indicators were calculated for the entire EU (EU-28). The research findings have revealed some interesting trends. First, each smart growth indicator’s progress depends on countries’ economic development level. Aggregate values for more developed countries (EU-14, H-7 and G-3) are always higher than the EU average (EU-28) and aggregate values for less developed economies are basically lower. Second, cohesion progress of smart growth indicators was influenced by economic recession in 2007–2009. It is argued that cohesion is evident in times of economic growth, but its progress ceases or divergence might occur in case of economic hazards. However, despite the expanding cohesion between the new and the old member states, a gap between certain groups of countries is even growing. This is clearly evident when the EU member states are divided into groups subject to the level of their economic development.

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The impact of health care financing on the economic growth: EU countries analysis

10.21272/hem.2020.2-03 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 24-32

Author(s):

Anastasiia Samoilikova ◽

Rosen Kunev

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Health Care ◽

Software Package ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Health Care Financing ◽

Eu Countries ◽

Per Capita ◽

The Impact ◽

The Eu

This article generalized modern tendencies and actual peculiarities of health care financing. The key aim of the research is to investigate the dynamics of health care financing as a factor of economic growth based on EU countries analysis. Systematization information sources connected with health care financing and its structure indicate that the EU countries analysis of dynamics of health care financing and its impact on economic growth was conducted fragmentary. This issue is still actual both for scholars and policymakers, especially for Ukraine, based on European trends. Investigation in the article is made according to the following stages: 1) introduction and relevance grounding; 2) literary review and identifying the necessity of research in this scientific area; 3) describing methodology, research methods, and current hypothesis; 4) characteristic of research results and confirming the hypothesis of the positive impact of the health care financing on economic growth; 5) making conclusions. Methodological tools of the research methods were structural and comparative analysis, logical generalization, and scientific abstraction. The methods of cross-country statistical and analytical analysis using the Excel 2010 software package for the sample from 14 EU countries for 2009-2018 (limited number of countries and limited data in 2018 relate to the data availability on open website of the EU statistical office) were applied to analyse the structure of health care financing, in particular financing schemes, main providers, and health care functions. The top countries in health care financing were identified. The methods of empirical analysis using the STATA software package for this data sample were used to confirm the hypothesis about the positive impact of the health care financing on economic growth – the GDP per capita. The nature of the analysed indices distribution was estimated based on results of Shapiro-Wilk test. So, Pearson or Spearman correlation coefficient was chosen. The statistical significance and strength of the relationship between the indicators of total expenditure for health care, and in particular government financing and compulsory contributory health care financing, voluntary health care financing, and household out-of-pocket payment for health care and the change of GDP per capita were assessed through a correlation analysis. The time lags of achievement the most statistical significance by this relationship was also identified. The results of the research show that the impact of health care financing on the change of economic growth is very high in 12 from 14 investigated EU countries (with lags of 1–3 years) and high in 2 from 14 countries (with a lag of 1 year). The character of this relationship for the most countries (9 from 14 countries) is direct (positive), and for 5 countries it is inverse (negative). The results of the research will be useful during future fundamental and practical research connected with health care financing and its modelling, for scholars and government officials to reform the health care system and its financial mechanism.

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