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Title The causal link between circular economy and economic growth in EU-25
ID_Doc 1044
Authors Chen, CC; Pao, HT
Title The causal link between circular economy and economic growth in EU-25
Year 2022
Published Environmental Science And Pollution Research, 29, 50
DOI 10.1007/s11356-022-21010-6
Abstract Actively promoting circular economy (CE) is one of the key means of global sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to analyze the causal relationship between CE and economic growth using data from EU-25 countries from 2010 to 2018. The selected CE indicators included municipal waste recycling rate, CE-related investment, municipal waste generation per capita, circularity rate, and trade in recyclable raw materials. Panel cointegration techniques affirmed the long-term equilibrium relationship between CE indicators and GDP. Panel vector error correction model results confirmed that in terms of short-run causality, an increase in material recycling led to a decrease in waste generation, an increase in waste generation led to an increase in CE-related investment, and economic growth led to circular economy growth, but not vice versa. This implies that encouraging CE-related innovation investments and promoting material recycling to stimulate the secondary raw material market can help achieve zero waste goals. Looking at the long-term causality, the GDP and CE indicators constituted a causal loop, which implies that there is co-evolution between them, although the circular economy is still in its infancy. This co-evolutionary sustainable economic growth can bring welfare to future generations.
Author Keywords Recycling; Circular economy; Economic growth; Causality; Panel model
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:000807812000024
WoS Category Environmental Sciences
Research Area Environmental Sciences & Ecology
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