The Central and Eastern European Countries: A Cluster Analysis from a Bioeconomy Perspective (original) (raw)

Agriculture and the Bioeconomy: A Socioeconomic Analysis of Central and Eastern European Countries

Sustainability

The bioeconomy is a complex and increasingly relevant field, and agriculture represents an essential sector for its development. The bioeconomy presents an opportunity for sustainable agriculture that is beneficial for the environment and public health, both globally and particularly for nations with centralized agricultural systems, such as the former socialist Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs). This article takes a novel approach to investigate the bioeconomic indicators in CEECs’ agriculture. It combines the hierarchical grouping method with an index based on socioeconomic indicators specific to the bioeconomy. It aims to find how the selected countries performed in terms of agriculture indicators. The socioeconomic indicator analysis showed that some countries had more linear evolutions than others, while some of them clearly outperformed the average of the region. The cluster analysis divided the countries into three relevant groups. The findings revealed patterns ...

The Position of the Visegrád Countries by Clustering Methods Based on Indicator Environmental Performance Index

Ekológia (Bratislava), 2020

With a growing number of negative environmental burdens, several countries have increasingly begun to address the issue of environmental protection through a number of measures. Such measures include higher spending on public health, conservation of natural resources, less emission to the air, efficiency of waste sorting, reduction of water pollution, and groundwater. The contribution is based on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) values to perform a cluster analysis of selected countries - especially OECD (organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. The database needed for analysis is the EPI indicator for the years for 2008 to 2018. The result will be clusters that will include countries with similar results of the EPI indicators for the reference period. It will be important for us to track the position of the Slovak Republic in this analysis.

Transition to Bioeconomy: Perceptions and Behaviors in Central and Eastern Europe

www.amfiteatrueconomic.ro

The implementation of bio-economy, respectively the transition from a fossil fuel-based development to an economy that uses biological resources and innovation in biological sciences requires the formulation of new strategies and policies focused on comprehensive analyzes. The aim of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of the concept and policies of bioeconomy and to analyze citizens' behaviors and perceptions about the development of bioeconomy in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The comparative vision has the role to in identifying differences and similarities between national systems and is captured by applying a cluster analysis. The data are from European official statistics-EUROSTAT, plus data collected under Eurobarometer 88.1, from the European Commission and European Parliament. The analysis of the data shows that there are differences between the countries considered, from the perspective of the socioeconomic context and also in terms of behaviors that support the bioeconomy. Further efforts are needed in the development of the bioeconomy to achieve both economic growth and employment opportunities as well as the development of behavior centered on the sustainability and resource efficiency of the resource.

Hierarchical Clustering Based on International Sustainability Indices of EU Countries

Ekonomické rozhľady – Economic Review

The presented paper focuses on the possibility to group countries by the cluster method in terms of assessing the sustainable competitiveness of European countries. Our calculation is based on HDI (Human Development Index) and EPI (Environmental Performance Index) indices. We also tried to show the differences in HDI and EPI index of the Slovak Republic and the Netherlands. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the global competitiveness regarding the environmental economics model, considering all three levels: economic, social, and environmental. We measure the socio-economic dimension using HDI according to the health and education areas, then we measure the environmental dimension using EPI, which monitors the behaviour of countries in the field of human health protection and ecosystem protection. Our question is whether there is an appropriate classification for the development of these countries that could help to reduce the differences between the average countries and the EU 2...

THE QUESTION OF CLUSTERS IN LESS DEVELOPED AREAS. EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM ROMANIA’S EASTERN REGIONS

2011

Various research studies addressing the specific problems and difficulties in the underdeveloped regions in the transition countries from Central and Eastern Europe have identified possible reactions regarding appropriate economic and social policy measures. Some of them take into consideration the role of cluster initiatives as a response to poor competitiveness, low level of innovation, high levels of unemployment and out-migration of the highly-skilled labour force. Though, the simple presence of clusters in a less developed region does not automatically mean more competitiveness and prosperity. A series of policy measures meant to improve the frame conditions for business firms and overall regional development should accompany clusters formation, as a coherent package including economic, legal, institutional, infrastructure, cultural and socio-political elements. Staring from these overall considerations our paper brings into discussion the capacity of cluster policies to offer viable solutions to the Romania's Eastern regions, lagging behind the Western ones. First, an overall image of the clusters existing in the Eastern part of Romania is provided based on statistical methods, mainly location quotients, Gini and Herfindahl indexes of regional specialisation and industrial concentration and cluster analysis. Second, GIS techniques are employed in order to provide a spotlight on cluster identity, location and borders by means of spatial, thematic data at locality level. Performance indicators are also included, so as to get an image on clusters' contribution to the development of the corresponding local economies as well as the county and region economy. Third, based on these results, the interviews with business environment representatives and policy makers in the envisaged regions point out the clusters with the highest chances of success. Also, the best practices are discussed and connected with successful solutions from other Central and East European countries. They will be differentiated in accordance with the characteristics of the orth-East and South-East regions, bearing in mind that, however, South-East region has a higher development level and different profile compared with orth-East.

Hierarchical Clustering of EU Countries Based on HDI and EPI Index

EDAMBA 2021 : COVID-19 Recovery: The Need for Speed : Conference Proceedings

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the global competitiveness regarding the environmental economics model, considering all three levels: economic, social, and environmental. We measure the socio-economic dimension using HDI (Human Development Index) according to the health and education areas, then we measure the environmental dimension using EPI (Environmental Performance Index), which monitors the behaviour of countries in the field of human health protection and ecosystem protection. This paper focuses on the possibility to group countries by the cluster method in terms of assessing the sustainable competitiveness of European countries. The question is whether there is an appropriate classification for the development of these countries that could help to reduce the differences between the average countries and the EU 27 average. The approach to this topic began with the question whether these countries, which have high values of economic growth, have a high level of EPI or HDI...

Assessment of the Concentration and Structure of the Bioeconomy: The Regional Approach

Emerging Science Journal

The bioeconomy is seen as crucial for achieving a climate-neutral Europe by 2050; therefore, it is important to monitor and illustrate the performance and trends of the bioeconomy development not only at state level but also in regions. The research aims to develop a methodology for the identification of bioeconomy concentration and the structure of bioeconomy enterprises at a regional level. The methodology of the research is based on four main steps: (1) defining the framework of bioeconomy enterprises; (2) setting data sources and research limitations; (3) estimating the bio-based share of bioeconomy industries; (4) estimating a location quotient which provide data serving to assess the level of concentration of the factor analysed. The research is based on the analysis of 119 municipalities and 30 387 bioeconomy enterprises by using a location quotient. The research results revealed that the municipalities could be classified into three groups according to the concentration of t...

Factors for Bioeconomy Development in EU Countries with Different Overall Levels of Economic Development

Energies, 2021

The aim of this article is to indicate the rationale for the development of the bioeconomy in selected EU countries depending on their overall level of economic development. The research was based on four highly developed countries, i.e., Germany, France, Finland and Denmark, and four medium-developed countries, i.e., Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia for the period 2001–2018. Renewable energy consumption, biomass and agricultural production were analysed as determinants of the bioeconomy development. The question was also answered whether differences in terms of measures determining the level of bioeconomy development between countries with different levels of economic development during the studied period are decreasing or increasing, using sigma (σ)-convergence coefficients. It is shown that the development of the bioeconomy of the studied countries is related to their level of economic development. In the middle economically developed countries, real opportunities fo...

Characteristics of Sustainable Bioeconomy in the CEE Macro-region

Central European Review of Economics & Finance, 2018

In the coming decades to achieve further progress in sustainable growth of agriculture, aquaculture, forestry and food industry in the CEE countries there is a need to face specific challenges through the lens of bioeconomy, thus by shifting the emphasis to research, innovation and transnational cooperation for knowledge-based development. A shared strategic research and innovation framework that has already been offered by the Central-Eastern European Initiative for Knowledge-based Agriculture, Aquaculture and Forestry in the Bioeconomy, i.e. by the BIOEAST Initiative might enable these countries to work towards the development of a sustainable bioeconomy while effectively joining the European Research Area. The study is aimed at conceptualizing bioeconomy, analysing key socio-economic indicators of the ‘BIOEAST countries’ bioeconomy and describing the implications for policymakers based on the results of the ‘BIOEAST Bioeconomy Capacity Building Survey’. Based on the results of th...

Assessment of the Economic Development of Polish Regions in the Context of the Implementation of the Concept of Sustainable Development - Taxonomic Analysis

European Journal of Sustainable Development

The aim of the article is to conduct a multidimensional assessment of the diversification of economic development of Polish regions in the context of the progress made in the implementation of the concept of sustainable development in 2010 and 2017. The authors focused primarily on determining the position of Lubusz Province on the economic map of Poland. Given that economic development is a complex category, taxonomic (synthetic) measures developed on the basis of selected methods of multivariate comparative analysis were used in the research. The synthetic measures were constructed using the proposed partial indicators (explanatory variables), which, according to the authors, best illustrate economic development and the idea of sustainable development at regional level. Based on the constructed measures, a linear ordering of Polish regions by level of economic development in the context of the implementation of the concept of sustainable development was made, and the convergence o...