Circular Economy Indicators as a Supporting Tool for European Regional Development Policies

Anna Avdiushchenko and Paweł Zając
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Anna Avdiushchenko: Faculty of Management, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Paweł Zając: Department of Applications of Mathematics in Economics, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-22

Abstract: The current research proposes a system of possible indicators for evaluating progress towards circular economy (CE) at the regional level in European Union countries. This was accomplished through desktop research examining potential CE indicators and approaches to monitoring, worldwide or at the country level, and possibilities for adapting such approaches to European regions. The study has shown that existing tools for monitoring are inadequate for tracking the progress of CE transition at the regional level. Based on those findings, it is possible to propose principles for designing CE indicators, types of indicators, their main characteristics and sources for data collection. The study also presents a case study for tracking CE progress, applying the proposed CE indicators to the Malopolska region in southern Poland. However, comparing CE progress between different European regions may not be feasible because of the limits of data availability. Additional indicators should be identified at the regional level to increase the quality of proposed areas of CE monitoring. Nevertheless, analysing CE indexes for various regions could offer a valuable method for distinguishing regional leaders in CE development to serve as useful examples, while determining which regions need to intensify their efforts toward such a transition.

Keywords: circular economy; evaluation indicators; principal component analysis; regional development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:11:p:3025-:d:235120

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