In recent decades, attention to environmental resource management has increased worldwide. Circular economy (CE) is a concept that is increasingly being considered as a solution to this range of challenges. Therefore, it is important to monitor the development of CE. This research is an attempt to contribute to the CE surveillance literature by providing a framework for comparing the positions of states and their classifications. The main goal of the article is to assess the level of circular economy development in EU countries according to the chosen methodology. The indicators used in this study are sourced from the European Commission Monitoring Framework database, which includes data from 27 European Union (EU) countries over the time frame from 2016 to 2020. The analysis was carried out using Multi-Criteria Decision Methods (MCDM), such as Simple Additive Weighing (SAW), and the objective method of estimating weights in accordance with proportional differences (APROD), which helped to assess the state of CE. The results showed that EU countries can be divided into three groups based on the level of performance of the CE, and their level of development in relation to the circular economy is different. The level of circular economy development in most EU countries is low. Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Italy demonstrated the best positions. The study findings were derived from the combination of two MCDMs, thus increasing the refinement of the overall methodology. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2024-08-02-013 Full Text: PDF
Fiscal decentralization has been widely discussed at various levels and from various perspectives. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (the OECD), similar to the World Bank, also pays great attention to it. Fiscal decentralization has always been an interesting investigation topic, and the researchers, in addition to considering the future of the economy, study this problem from different perspectives, i.e. geographic, political and others. The effect of fiscal decentralization on the economic development of the state has been investigated by various authors. Three different hypotheses provide the proofs of the positive effect of fiscal decentralization. The main advantage of fiscal federalism are efficient and adequate public services which are provided locally through the mobility of the citizens, voting power and competition between the local governments in the created ecosystem. The potential advantages of the competition among the local government powers are similar to the advantages associated with the competition on the private markets. The paper is focussed on fiscal decentralization of the state. It aims to investigate the theoretical aspect of the impact of fiscal decentralization on the economic development to calculate the index of fiscal decentralization and to evaluate the effect of fiscal decentralization on the economic development in the particular states of the European Union. Thus, Bulgaria and Lithuania have the lowest fiscal decentralization index of EU-13 (0.28), while the Czech Republic has the highest index (0.46). The researchers have proved the effect of fiscal decentralization on the economic development of the EU-13 states to be statistically significant and positive. The originality of this paper is that it introduces a theoretical model for evaluating the fiscal decentralization effect on the economic development and assesses the fiscal decentralization effect on the economic development of the particular EU-13 states.
Today, when we talk about development, irrespective of the level of the analysed subject – a state, a sphere of economic activity, a region or a company – first of all we think about sustainable development. The following concept of sustainable development has been formed in the global environmental and in economic development forums, and has become the classic definition: it is development that meets the current needs of a society without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This concept is based on three components – environmental, economic and social development. The definition of sustainable development allows for the conclusion that it is a compromise between the environmental, economic and social objectives of a society. It involves a process of transformations when economic advancement is coordinated with environmental, social and cultural changes. On the other hand, it must always be stressed that the main basis for both social and environmental development is economic development. However, the economic objectives should not be maximized without observing the environmental and social limitations. Such limitations shape a reverse effect on the economic development. The social and ecological developments have a similar interrelationship. Sustainable development (SD) is especially relevant when we talk about regional politics, the objective of which is to reduce the differences in economic development between individual states or regions within a country. Where regional politics are ineffective, social tensions grow and this is expressed through the amount of emigration, criminality, higher death-rates, lower birth rates, etc. Besides this, the ecology of the region suffers: water and air pollution increases, and the natural resources are used inefficiently. Therefore, sustainable development in a region can be seen as a critical condition for effective regional policies. In order to better understand the phenomenon of sustainable development and to manage it purposefully, two tasks need to be performed: first, a quantitative assessment of the state of the components for sustainable development at a certain time; and second, their interrelationship needs to be determined. In the general process of development, the main role is played by economic development; therefore, it is important to determine its impact on the other two components of sustainable development and especially on the environment. Economic and social, as well as environmental development, is a complex phenomenon that is expressed by many aspects. The criteria reflecting the development are expressed by different dimensions, besides which their directions of impact can be different, i.e. some of them may be maximizing (the situation improves when the value of the indicator increases), while the others are minimizing (the situation is deteriorating when the value of the indicator increases). Given this contradictory situation, multicriteria methods are best suited for the quantitative assessment of the state of a complex phenomenon, and in recent years these methods have been applied more widely for solving various tasks due to their universality (Ginevičius et al., 2011; Ginevičius & Podvezko, 2012; Mardani et al., 2015; Mardani et al., 2016; Zolfani et al., 2015). This article attempts to analyze how to calculate the indexes of economic and ecological development based on multicriteria methods in a manner that will allow for an analysis of their interrelationships.
Today, when we talk about development, irrespective of the level of the analysed subject – a state, a sphere of economic activity, a region or a company – first of all we think about sustainable development. The following concept of sustainable development has been formed in the global environmental and in economic development forums, and has become the classic definition: it is development that meets the current needs of a society without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This concept is based on three components – environmental, economic and social development. The definition of sustainable development allows for the conclusion that it is a compromise between the environmental, economic and social objectives of a society. It involves a process of transformations when economic advancement is coordinated with environmental, social and cultural changes. On the other hand, it must always be stressed that the main basis for both social and environmental development is economic development. However, the economic objectives should not be maximized without observing the environmental and social limitations. Such limitations shape a reverse effect on the economic development. The social and ecological developments have a similar interrelationship. Sustainable development (SD) is especially relevant when we talk about regional politics, the objective of which is to reduce the differences in economic development between individual states or regions within a country. Where regional politics are ineffective, social tensions grow and this is expressed through the amount of emigration, criminality, higher death-rates, lower birth rates, etc. Besides this, the ecology of the region suffers: water and air pollution increases, and the natural resources are used inefficiently. Therefore, sustainable development in a region can be seen as a critical condition for effective regional policies. In order to better understand the phenomenon of sustainable development and to manage it purposefully, two tasks need to be performed: first, a quantitative assessment of the state of the components for sustainable development at a certain time; and second, their interrelationship needs to be determined. In the general process of development, the main role is played by economic development; therefore, it is important to determine its impact on the other two components of sustainable development and especially on the environment. Economic and social, as well as environmental development, is a complex phenomenon that is expressed by many aspects. The criteria reflecting the development are expressed by different dimensions, besides which their directions of impact can be different, i.e. some of them may be maximizing (the situation improves when the value of the indicator increases), while the others are minimizing (the situation is deteriorating when the value of the indicator increases). Given this contradictory situation, multicriteria methods are best suited for the quantitative assessment of the state of a complex phenomenon, and in recent years these methods have been applied more widely for solving various tasks due to their universality (Ginevičius et al., 2011; Ginevičius & Podvezko, 2012; Mardani et al., 2015; Mardani et al., 2016; Zolfani et al., 2015). This article attempts to analyze how to calculate the indexes of economic and ecological development based on multicriteria methods in a manner that will allow for an analysis of their interrelationships.
The article focuses on the issue of municipal funding from revenues collected by local governments and the state budget of Lithuania. In addition, it offers an evaluation of the Lithuanian practice in this field, discusses used methodological approaches and overviews practical experience of other countries as well as the relevant theory. Furthermore, it considers theoretical issues of local tax and tax distribution between levels of local government. Finally, it gives general principles of tax distribution and administration. The results of this investigation point to fundamental problems, relating the misbalance in funding of local governments with regional differentiation. The growth in disparities of municipal revenues demands a better redistribution of income, which includes an increasing amount of grants. However, the current system used for funding of local governments limits possible solutions that could address these problems. It should be considered that in 2009–2013, the lowest amount of municipal income per resident was identified in Vilnius County; whereas the highest amount was found in Utena (2009), Alytus (2010–2012) and Šiauliai (2013) counties.
The article focuses on the issue of municipal funding from revenues collected by local governments and the state budget of Lithuania. In addition, it offers an evaluation of the Lithuanian practice in this field, discusses used methodological approaches and overviews practical experience of other countries as well as the relevant theory. Furthermore, it considers theoretical issues of local tax and tax distribution between levels of local government. Finally, it gives general principles of tax distribution and administration. The results of this investigation point to fundamental problems, relating the misbalance in funding of local governments with regional differentiation. The growth in disparities of municipal revenues demands a better redistribution of income, which includes an increasing amount of grants. However, the current system used for funding of local governments limits possible solutions that could address these problems. It should be considered that in 2009–2013, the lowest amount of municipal income per resident was identified in Vilnius County; whereas the highest amount was found in Utena (2009), Alytus (2010–2012) and Šiauliai (2013) counties.
This article examines the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of firms, with a focus on the environmental pillar of the ESG concept. It is believed that the price of equities as well as sector-specific characteristics may be affected by ESG data. It also contributes to the argument that environmental performance and governance quality are related. The purpose of this paper is to statistically validate the separated environmental data from the ESG concept and investigate its impact on the equity price in the EU and the United States. Using simple linear regressions and a fixed effect panel data model, the association between environmental score and governance score, as well as equity price and environmental score, was estimated. This study examines the 500 largest US corporations comprising the S&P 500 index (S&P) and the 600 largest EU companies comprising the STOXX Europe 600 index (STOXX) (SXXP). This article analyzes ESG statistics for the period 2015–2020. The results indicate that a higher government score has a favorable effect on environmental pledges and that changes in stock price depend in part on environmental data. The novel contribution of this paper is that the results suggest a sector-specific contribution to the model, and it would be fascinating to analyze sector disparities and their ESG-related policies in greater detail. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-02-08 Full Text: PDF
