RESOURCE PRODUCTIVITY. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ROMANIA-EU

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the evolution of resource productivity in the EU27 and Romania based on EUROSTAT statistical data. The period covered was 2000-2023. The results of the analysis revealed an upward trend in the EU27 average of resource productivity representing a decoupling between economic growth and resource consumption. This was not the case for Romania, which experienced a fluctuating evolution without a clear upward trend. There is a gap between Romania and the EU27. At the same time, the simple panel regression analysis at EU level showed a moderately strong and positive link between the rate of circular material use and resource productivity. In the case of Romania, however, the correlation was strongly positive even though circular material use rates were much lower than the EU average. This difference between the EU and Romania can be explained by structural variations between Member States (level of economic development, economic structure, environmental policies, technological level, etc.), which may weaken the strength of the relationship observed at the aggregate (EU) level. Such differences may attenuate the consistency of the relationship at the EU level.