Advancing the circular economy in Europe: The role of eco-innovation, economic complexity, and digitalization

IF 12.5 1区社会学 Q1 SOCIAL ISSUES

Technology in Society Pub Date : 2025-07-26 DOI:10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.103027

Joshua Adeyemi Afolabi

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The global economy faces serious challenges, including resource depletion and environmental degradation, that have paved the way for the emergence of a circular economy (CE). To maintain the European Union's (EU) leadership in CE transition, this paper examines the role of eco-innovation, economic complexity, and digitalization in advancing CE using 2010–2021 data from 22 EU member states. The Panel Ordinary Least Squares (POLS), Driscoll-Kraay Standard Error (DKSE), and Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) estimation methods are used to analyze the impact of these three factors on CE. The Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality test was also applied. The results show eco-innovation, economic complexity, and digitalization as significant drivers of CE, with digitalization emerging as the most influential, followed by economic complexity and eco-innovation. However, their impact differs across levels of CE performance, with eco-innovation being more effective in countries with lower CE performance, and economic complexity showing greater benefits in more advanced economies. Further analyses show causal independence between digitalization and CE, and eco-innovation and CE, but a unidirectional causality from economic complexity to CE. These findings suggest the need to strengthen country-specific and regional efforts to improve CE and enable the EU to achieve its long-term environmental and economic goals.

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推进欧洲循环经济：生态创新、经济复杂性和数字化的作用

全球经济面临着严峻的挑战，包括资源枯竭和环境恶化，这为循环经济的出现铺平了道路。为了保持欧盟在电子商务转型中的领导地位，本文利用来自22个欧盟成员国2010-2021年的数据，研究了生态创新、经济复杂性和数字化在推进电子商务中的作用。采用面板普通最小二乘法（POLS）、Driscoll-Kraay标准误差（DKSE）和矩量分位数回归法（MMQR）估计方法分析这三个因素对CE的影响。采用dumitrescup - hurlin面板因果检验。结果表明，生态创新、经济复杂性和数字化是企业环境绩效的重要驱动因素，其中数字化的影响最大，其次是经济复杂性和生态创新。然而，它们的影响在不同的CE绩效水平上有所不同，生态创新在CE绩效较低的国家更有效，而经济复杂性在更发达的经济体中表现出更大的效益。进一步分析表明，数字化与环保、生态创新与环保之间存在独立的因果关系，但经济复杂性与环保之间存在单向因果关系。这些研究结果表明，有必要加强针对具体国家和区域的努力，以改善环境污染，使欧盟能够实现其长期的环境和经济目标。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Technology in Society Multiple-

CiteScore

17.90

自引率

14.10%

发文量

316

审稿时长

60 days

期刊介绍： Technology in Society is a global journal dedicated to fostering discourse at the crossroads of technological change and the social, economic, business, and philosophical transformation of our world. The journal aims to provide scholarly contributions that empower decision-makers to thoughtfully and intentionally navigate the decisions shaping this dynamic landscape. A common thread across these fields is the role of technology in society, influencing economic, political, and cultural dynamics. Scholarly work in Technology in Society delves into the social forces shaping technological decisions and the societal choices regarding technology use. This encompasses scholarly and theoretical approaches (history and philosophy of science and technology, technology forecasting, economic growth, and policy, ethics), applied approaches (business innovation, technology management, legal and engineering), and developmental perspectives (technology transfer, technology assessment, and economic development). Detailed information about the journal's aims and scope on specific topics can be found in Technology in Society Briefings, accessible via our Special Issues and Article Collections.