IntereconomicsPub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.2478/ie-2023-0017
Sarah Lichtenthäler, A. Neligan
{"title":"How Circular Are Businesses in Germany?","authors":"Sarah Lichtenthäler, A. Neligan","doi":"10.2478/ie-2023-0017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/ie-2023-0017","url":null,"abstract":"The basic concept of a circular economy is to use resources for as long as possible by minimising the material and energy demands as well as the waste and emissions of an economic system (Geissdoerfer et al., 2017; Neligan et al., 2022). It focuses on the entire value chain or the complete product life cycle: this includes the extraction of raw materials, the product design, the manufacturing of semi-finished and finished goods and products as well as the use and subsequent recycling of materials. Ideally, products are designed for the longest possible lifetime, reuse and recycling, and appropriate raw materials are used during the design phase. This enables the reuse, refurbishment or return of products to the material cycle at the end of their lifetime. Product and service systems need to be adapted to this, and there is scope for new business models to meet these requirements (Deloitte and The Federation of German Industries, 2021). Well-functioning markets for secondary raw materials as an essential pillar of a circular economy have to operate across borders to ensure demand. The goals of a circular economy are to optimise and prolong the use of resources and ultimately to return and reuse resources in a closed loop.","PeriodicalId":35662,"journal":{"name":"Intereconomics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87925815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntereconomicsPub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.2478/ie-2023-0022
André Wolf
{"title":"The Spatial Evolution of a European Hydrogen Economy","authors":"André Wolf","doi":"10.2478/ie-2023-0022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/ie-2023-0022","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Green hydrogen has outgrown the testing stage: over the next few years, consortia across Europe will be investing large sums to build the supply chains of tomorrow. However, Europe as a whole will only be successful if it aligns the development of supply chains with the potentials of its regions and exploits the advantages of a European division of labour. This article examines the spatial distribution of hydrogen frontrunner projects in light of regional heterogeneity. It reveals a pattern that exhibits clear core regions but is only partly consistent with the localisation of current production and usage potentials. For a rapid ramp-up of hydrogen markets, European policymakers should make greater efforts to incentivise capacity formation in regions with high potential, by harmonising national levies affecting hydrogen supply chains and promoting the build-up of a cross-regional hydrogen transport infrastructure. Moreover, public investment support provided by various institutions and programmes should be better aligned to the common target of capacity upscaling.","PeriodicalId":35662,"journal":{"name":"Intereconomics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77843889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntereconomicsPub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.2478/ie-2023-0016
A. Månberger
{"title":"Critical Raw Material Supply Matters and the Potential of the Circular Economy to Contribute to Security","authors":"A. Månberger","doi":"10.2478/ie-2023-0016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/ie-2023-0016","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35662,"journal":{"name":"Intereconomics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86881738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntereconomicsPub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.2478/ie-2023-0018
Daniel Feser
{"title":"Addressing the Green and Digital Transition in Third Mission Projects","authors":"Daniel Feser","doi":"10.2478/ie-2023-0018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/ie-2023-0018","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35662,"journal":{"name":"Intereconomics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82501936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntereconomicsPub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.2478/ie-2023-0014
{"title":"Rethinking Resource Efficiency: Europe’s Transition to a Circular Economy","authors":"","doi":"10.2478/ie-2023-0014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/ie-2023-0014","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The war in Ukraine has brought the challenges stemming from Europe’s dependency on natural gas and oil imports into sharp focus. This has also highlighted another dependency – that on raw materials that are critical for the EU’s transition to a low-carbon economy. A strategic approach to raw material management can help negate the risks posed by a dependency on imports of critical raw materials. Improving resource efficiency is also necessary to achieve a low-carbon economy and sustain socio-economic progress in the face of finite natural resources. This Forum highlights the progress currently being made in geopolitical, economic and environmental areas and looks at the main constraints to the circular economy agenda where targeted solutions are needed. What is currently being done to decouple material consumption from welfare creation and use resources more efficiently? To what extent can recycling prolong the use of natural resources? Which measures can transform current business models into circular business models? How can technology and digitalisation be used to improve resource efficiency while minimising environmental burdens? Can knowledge transfer be used in addressing the complexity of the transition to a circular economy?","PeriodicalId":35662,"journal":{"name":"Intereconomics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88156286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntereconomicsPub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.2478/ie-2023-0024
D. Baker
{"title":"The Silicon Valley Bank Run: Regulatory and Media Failure","authors":"D. Baker","doi":"10.2478/ie-2023-0024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/ie-2023-0024","url":null,"abstract":"The most important thing to know about the recent banking problems in the United States is that they are not at all like the problems we saw in 2008-09. The crisis in the banking system during the Great Recession was a result of the fact that hundreds of banks across the country, including several of the largest, were insolvent. The current situation, with some banks facing runs from uninsured depositors, is not at all comparable. Media reporting, which has frequently made this comparison, has played a major role in exacerbating the recent crisis.","PeriodicalId":35662,"journal":{"name":"Intereconomics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75672336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntereconomicsPub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.2478/ie-2023-0019
Florian W. Bartholomae, C. Nam
{"title":"A Critical Discussion on the Reasons and Impacts of International Decoupling","authors":"Florian W. Bartholomae, C. Nam","doi":"10.2478/ie-2023-0019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/ie-2023-0019","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In the current economic policy debate, there are often calls to reverse advanced developments in globalisation and the international division of labour. Reasons such as greater business resilience, political independence and, from a climate perspective, less harmful production argue for not abolishing trade, but at least bundling a larger part of the value chain locally. However, such considerations are de facto made from the perspective of a highly developed and globally networked industrialised country. In contrast, this paper argues that trade activities can never be considered from the perspective of only one partner, but must always take into account the needs of all stakeholders, which in turn depend on the respective level of development.","PeriodicalId":35662,"journal":{"name":"Intereconomics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78276295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntereconomicsPub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.2478/ie-2023-0015
Edoardo Righetti, Vasileios Rizos
{"title":"The EU’s Quest for Strategic Raw Materials: What Role for Mining and Recycling?","authors":"Edoardo Righetti, Vasileios Rizos","doi":"10.2478/ie-2023-0015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/ie-2023-0015","url":null,"abstract":"Vasileios Rizos, Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels, Belgium. In her State of the Union address in September 2022, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recognised how raw materials like lithium and rare earths are increasingly “replacing gas and oil at the heart of our economy” and that the EU, faced with growing demand and high market concentration, should avoid “falling into the same dependency as with oil and gas” (European Commission, 2022).","PeriodicalId":35662,"journal":{"name":"Intereconomics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76338096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
IntereconomicsPub Date : 2023-03-01DOI: 10.2478/ie-2023-0021
A. Maucorps, Roman Römisch, Thomas Schwab, Nina Vujanović
{"title":"The Impact of the Green and Digital Transition on Regional Cohesion in Europe","authors":"A. Maucorps, Roman Römisch, Thomas Schwab, Nina Vujanović","doi":"10.2478/ie-2023-0021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/ie-2023-0021","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Closing the prosperity gap between regions has always been a key political aspiration of the European Union – and cohesion policy is the primary means to achieve that goal. Europe is currently undergoing a digital and green transition that is drastically changing the way its economy works. How well prepared are regions to capitalise on the twin transition? What impact will it have on regional cohesion in Europe? We find that greening and digitalising the economy will likely widen the gap between rich and poor regions in the European Union.","PeriodicalId":35662,"journal":{"name":"Intereconomics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88042434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}