Long-term trends in economic and environmental efficiency of EU agriculture: A DEA-Malmquist approach

Dirk Beyer and Jana Hinke
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Dirk Beyer: Department of Business Studies, Harz University of Applied Sciences, Wernigerode, Germany
Jana Hinke: Department of Trade and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

Agricultural Economics, 2026, vol. 72, issue 1, 56-67

Abstract: Enhancing economic and environmental efficiency is a fundamental objective shared by all European economic sectors, with agriculture being a particular area of focus. In this study, economic and environmental efficiency are considered in parallel and compared in terms of their long-term development. From an economic perspective, the classical production factors of labour, capital and land are compared with economic production output. The environmental perspective of the study focuses on greenhouse gases and acidifying gases, with the investigation based on data from Eurostat from 2009 to 2020. Due to constraints regarding the availability of data , the study encompassed 22 EU countries. The findings indicate that Greece, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland demonstrate high levels of economic efficiency, while Ireland and Finland exhibit notable enhancements in this regard. Low economic efficiency scores are evident in Latvia and Austria, where substantial catching-up processes are observable. With respect to ecological efficiency, Greece, Spain and Italy have been found to be dominant, as have Finland, Sweden and Slovakia. Ireland, Luxembourg and Poland have lower ecological efficiency scores, but only Ireland shows signs of convergence. The present study seeks to minimise the impact of volatility and dispersion with a view to providing valid long-term trends for the purpose of benchmarking efforts and r policy decisions.

Keywords: air emissions; capital; labour; land; Malmquist index; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:72:y:2026:i:1:id:6-2025-agricecon

DOI: 10.17221/6/2025-AGRICECON

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