Economic freedom and environmental performance

PublikationBokkapitel
Jonas Grafström

Sammanfattning

In this chapter, the relationship between economic freedom and environmental performance is scrutinized. The analysis relies on comparing countries’ standing in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) of the Yale Centre for Environmental Law & Policy with two indexes of economic freedom, one developed by the Fraser Institute (Economic Freedom of the World index), and the other by the Heritage Foundation (Index of Economic Freedom). Whether economic freedom is good or bad for the environment depends on how it affects incentives, productive efforts, and effective resource use. Greater economic freedom can both harm and help environmental performance. It is a complicated relationship, but high economic freedom generally goes hand in hand with high scores in the EPI.

Grafström, J. (2024). Economic freedom and environmental performance. In Handbook of Research on Economic Freedom (pp. 343-356).


Liknande innehåll

Working Paper No. 379: Europe’s Future Industrial Landscape: A Green Industrial Location Attractiveness Index
Working paperPublikation
Grafström, J.
Publiceringsår

2024

Publicerat i

Ratio Working Paper Series.

Sammanfattning

Increased gas prices, constraints in nuclear power generation, and diminished hydroelectric production have introduced challenges for Europe, coinciding with an emerging green industrialization. Utilizing data from the European Commission and Eurostat, we introduce the Green Industrial Location Attractiveness Index, a tool designed to help assessing locations of future green industrial developments. Our findings highlight Sweden, Finland, and France as probable destinations for green industrial projects. A revealing geographical divide where northern European countries rank higher compared to their southern counterparts. This analysis enhances our understanding of Europe’s changing industrial landscape amidst volatile electricity prices, offering insights for policymakers and investors. An overarching conclusion of the paper is that well-crafted energy policies help mitigate the economic impacts of energy price fluctuations on energy-intensive industries, ensuring that Europe’s industrial landscape remain competitive.

Diverging or converging technology capabilities in the European Union?
Artikel (med peer review)Publikation
Grafström, J., & Alm, C.
Publiceringsår

2024

Publicerat i

The Journal of Technology Transfer

Sammanfattning

The ongoing debate among economists regarding the presence of economic convergence or divergence has been reignited. This paper aims to dissect the extent of technological divergence or convergence among European Union member states, evaluating the effectiveness of the EU’s pronounced goals for convergence. Defining a countries technological level is not straightforward, this study examines six key indicators: (a) scientific journal publications, (b) total patents, (c) high tech exports, (d) Gross domestic expenditure on R&D, (e) government budget on R&D, and (f) human resources in science and technology as a share of the active population. Employing both time-series and longitudinal methodologies, the analysis spans from 2000 to 2019. The findings reveal a gradual catching-up trend in the inventive capabilities across the EU. This modest pace of convergence necessitates a critical reassessment by policymakers of the current EU convergence strategies to ensure they effectively foster technological parity among member states.

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