Regional environmental efficiency in waste generation

Halkos, George and Petrou, Kleoniki Natalia (2017): Regional environmental efficiency in waste generation.

Abstract

This paper employs Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to consider waste generation at a regional level in the European Union (EU). By doing so both good and bad outputs are taken into account and different frameworks are designed. Five parameters (waste generation, employment rate, capital formation, GDP and population density) are used for 172 EU regions and for the years 2009, 2011 and 2013. In doing so four frameworks have been designed with different inputs and outputs each time. The results show the more efficient EU regions according to each framework, but it should be noted that results from different frameworks should not be compared to each other. Overall results suggest that the highest performers are regions in Belgium, Italy, Portugal and the UK. Finally the efficiency results from DEA were reviewed against the treatment options employed in the relevant regions. Our findings show that although a country might be efficient according to DEA and by taking many factors into consideration, it is not necessary that regions within a country use sustainable waste treatment options as it is essential to account for trade and shipment of waste between regions and countries as well.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Environmental efficiency; waste generation; EU regions; DEA.
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C6 - Mathematical Methods ; Programming Models ; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C6 - Mathematical Methods ; Programming Models ; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling > C60 - General; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C6 - Mathematical Methods ; Programming Models ; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling > C67 - Input-Output Models; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies > O52 - Europe; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q50 - General; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q56 - Environment and Development ; Environment and Trade ; Sustainability ; Environmental Accounts and Accounting ; Environmental Equity ; Population Growth; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R1 - General Regional Economics > R11 - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

References

Benito, B., Bastida, F. and García, J. A. (2010) The determinants of efficiency in municipal governments. Applied Economics, 42(4), 515–528.

Berg, S.A., Forsund, F.R. and Jansen, E.S. (1992) Malmquist indices of productivity growth during the deregulation of Norwegian banking 1980–1989. Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 94(0), 211–228.

Bosch, N., Pedraja, F. and Suárez‐Pandiello, J. (2000) Measuring the efficiency of Spanish municipal refuse collection services. Local Government Studies, 26(3), 71–90.

Boussofiane, A., Dyson, R.G. and Thanassoulis, E. (1991) Applied data envelopment analysis. European Journal of Operational Research, 52, 1–15.

Chen, H.-W., Chang, N.-B., Chen, J.-C. and Tsai, S.-J. (2010) Environmental performance evaluation of large-scale municipal solid waste incinerators using data envelopment analysis. Waste Management, 30, 1371–1381.

Chen, Y., Chen, C., (2012) The privatization effect of MSW incineration services by using data envelopment analysis. Waste Management, 32, 595–602.

Cook, W.D., Tone, K. and Zhu, J. (2014) Data envelopment analysis: Prior to choosing a model. Omega 44, 1–4.

De Jaeger, S., Eyckmans, J., Rogge, N. and Van Puyenbroeck, T. (2011) Wasteful waste reducing policies? The impact of waste reduction policy instruments on collection and processing costs of municipal solid waste. Waste Management, 31, 1429–1440.

Dostalova, K. (2014) Efficiency Evaluation of Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Czech Republic using DEA Method. Master Thesis, Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Brno.

European Environment Agency (2012) Movements of waste across the EU's internal and external borders. EEA Report, No 7/2012.

European Environment Agency (2015) Cross-country comparisons: Waste — municipal solid waste generation and management. European Environment Agency, SOER 2015. Available at: https://www.eea.europa.eu/soer-2015/countries-comparison/waste

Eurostat (2016) Top 3 types of treatment and the top 3 export and import countries for the top 10 notified non-hazardous waste according to the European LoW classification in 2013. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Waste_shipment_ statistics_ based_on_the_European_list_of_waste_codes

Eurostat (2017) Municipal waste treatment by type of treatment. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/ eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Municipal_waste_statistics

Eunomia (2015) Economic Analysis of Options for Managing Biodegradable Municipal Waste, Final Report to the European Commission. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/ compost/pdf/econanalysis_finalreport.pdf

Evangelinos K.I. and Halkos G.E. (2002). Implementation of environmental management systems standards: important factors in corporate decision making. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 4(3), 311-328.

Fare, R., Grosskopf, S. and Lovell, C.A.K. (1989) Multilateral productivity comparisons when some outputs are undesirable: a non-parametric approach. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 71(1), 90–98.

Fare, R., Grosskopf, S., Lovell, C.A.K. and Yaiswarng, S. (1993) Deviation of shadow prices for undesirable outputs: a distance function approach. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 75(2), 374–380.

Fare, R., Grosskopf, S. and Hernandez-Sancho, F. (2004) Environmental performance: an index number approach. Resource and Energy Economics, 26(4), 343–352.

Fare, R., Grosskopf, S., Noh, D.W. and Weber, W. (2005) Characteristics of a polluting technology: theory and practice. Journal of Econometrics, 126(2), 469–492.

Gelman, A and Hill, J. (2007) Data Analysis using Regression and Multilevel/Hierarchical Models, Chapter 25 Cambridge University Press.

Hailu, A. and Veeman, T. (2001) Non-parametric productivity analysis with undesirable outputs: an application to Canadian pulp and paper industry. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 83(3), 605–616.

Halkos G.E. (1992). Economic perspectives of the acid rain problem in Europe. University of York.

Halkos G.E. (2003). Environmental Kuznets Curve for sulfur: evidence using GMM estimation and random coefficient panel data models. Environment and Development Economics, 8(4), 581-601.

Halkos G.E. (2011). Environment and economic development: determinants of an EKC hypothesis, MPRA Paper 33262, University Library of Munich, Germany.

Halkos G.E. (2013). Exploring the economy - environment relationship in the case of sulphur emissions. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 56(2), 159-177.

Halkos G.E. and Evangelinos K.I. (2002). Determinants of environmental management systems standards implementation: evidence from Greek industry. Business Strategy and the Environment, 11(6), 360-375.

Halkos, G.E. and Papageorgiou, G. (2014) Spatial environmental efficiency indicators in regional waste generation: A nonparametric approach. DEOS Working Papers 1401, Athens, University of Economics and Business.

Halkos, G.E. and Papageorgiou, G. (2015) Spatial environmental efficiency indicators in regional waste generation: A nonparametric approach. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 59(1), 62-78.

Halkos, G.E. and Petrou K.N. (2016) Moving Towards a Circular Economy: Rethinking Waste Management Practices. Journal of Economic and Social Thought, 3(2): 220-240.

Halkos G.E. and Tseremes N. (2007). International competitiveness in the ICT industry: Evaluating the performance of the top 50 companies. Global Economic Review, 36(2), 167-182.

Halkos G.E. and Tsionas E.G. (2001). Environmental Kuznets curves: Bayesian evidence from switching regime models. Energy Economics, 23(2), 191-210.

Hua, Z., Bian, Y, and Liang, L. (2007) Eco-efficiency analysis of paper mills along the Huai River: an extended DEA approach. Omega. 35(5), 578–587.

IDRE (2016) Missing Data Techniques with SAS. Available at: http://stats.idre.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Missing-Data-Techniques_UCLA_Stata.pdf

Jablonský, J. and Dlouhý, M. (2004) Modely hodnocení efektivnosti produkčních jednotek. Praha, Czech Republic: Professional Publishing.

Kao, C. (2014) Network data envelopment analysis: A review. European Journal of Operational Research, 239, 1–16.

Kortelainen, M. and Kuosmanen, T. (2007) Eco-efficiency analysis of consumer durables using absolute shadow prices. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 28, 57–69.

Kortelainen, M. 2008. Dynamic environmental performance analysis: a Malmquist index approach. Ecological Economics, 64, 701-715.

Kumar, S. (2006) Environmentally sensitive productivity growth: A global analysis using Malmquist–Luenberger index. Ecological Economics, 56(2), 280–293.

Kuosmanen, T., Kortelainen, M. (2005) Measuring eco-efficiency of production with data envelopment analysis. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 9, 59-72.

Lozano, S., Iribarren, D., Moreira, M.T. and Feijoo, G. (2009) The link between operational efficiency and environmental impacts: A joint application of Life Cycle Assessment and Data Envelopment Analysis. Science of the Total Environment, 407, 1744-1754.

Marques, R.C. and Simões, P. (2009) Incentive regulation and performance measurement of the Portuguese solid waste management services. Waste Management and Research, 27, 188–196.

Moore, A., Nolan, J. and Segal, G. F. (2005) Putting out the trash measuring municipal service efficiency in US cities. Urban Affairs Review, 41(2), 237–259.

Municipal Waste Europe (2017) Summary of the current EU legislation. Available at: https://www.municipalwasteeurope.eu/summary-current-eu-waste-legislation

Ramanathan, R. (2002) Combining indicators of energy consumption and CO 2 emissions: A crosscountry comparison. International Journal of Global Energy Issues, 17(3), 214–227.

Ramanathan, R. (2005) An analysis of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Energy, 30(15), 2831–2842.

Rogge, N. and De Jaeger, S. (2012) Evaluating the efficiency of municipalities in collecting and processing municipal solid waste: A shared input DEA-model. Waste Management, 32, 1968–1978.

Rogge, N. and De Jaeger, S. (2013) Measuring and explaining the cost efficiency of municipal solid waste collection and processing services. Omega, 41(4), 653–664.

Sarkis, J. (1999) Methodological framework for evaluating environmentally conscious manufacturing programs. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 36(4), 793–810.

Sarkis, J. and Cordeiro, J. J. (2001) An empirical evaluation of environmental efficiencies and firm performance: pollution prevention versus end-of-pipe practice. European Journal of Operational Research, 135(1), 102–113.

Sarkis, J. and Weinrach, J. (2001) Using data envelopment analysis to evaluate environmentally conscious waste treatment technology. Journal of Cleaner Production, 9(5), 417–427.

Scheel, H. (2001) Undesirable outputs in efficiency valuations. European Journal of Operational Research, 132(2), 400–410.

Seiford, L.M., Zhu, J. (2002) Modeling undesirable factors in efficiency evaluation. European Journal of Operational Research, 142, 16-20.

Seiford, L.M., Zhu, J. (2005) A response to comments on modeling undesirable factors in efficiency evaluation. European Journal of Operational Research, 161, 579-581.

Sherman, H.D. and Zhu, J. (2006) Chapter 2: Data Envelopment Analysis explained. In: Service Productivity Management, Improving Service Performance using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Springer.

Simões, P., De Witte, K. and Marques, R.C. (2010) Regulatory structures and operational environment in the Portuguese waste sector. Waste Management, 30, 1130–1137.

Sueyoshi, T. and Goto, M. (2014) DEA radial measurement for environmental assessment: A comparative study between Japanese chemical and pharmaceutical firms. Applied Energy, 115, 502–513.

Soukopová, J. (2011) Metody ekonomické analýzy a jejich využití pro hodnocení výdajů na ochranu životního prostředí. In Soukopová, J. (Ed.), Výdaje obcí na ochranu životního prostředí a jejich efektivnost, Brno, Czech Republic: Littera, 103-142.

Tone, K. (2001) A slacks-based measure of efficiency in data envelopment analysis. European Journal of Operational Research, 130(3), 498–509.

Tone, K. (2004) Dealing with undesirable outputs in DEA: a Slacks-Based Measure (SBM) approach. Presentation at NAPWIII. Toronto.

Tyteca, D. (1996) On the measurement of the environmental performance of firms: a literature review and productive efficiency perspective. Journal of Environmental Management, 46(3), 281–308.

Wang, Q., Zhou, P. and Zhou, D. (2012) Efficiency measurement with carbon dioxide emissions: The case of China. Applied Energy, 90(1), 161–166.

Worthington, A. C. and Dollery, B. E. (2001) Measuring efficiency in local government: An analysis of New South Wales municipalities' domestic waste management function. Policy Studies Journal, 29(2), 232–249.

Zaim, O. (2004) Measuring environmental performance of state manufacturing through changes in pollution intensities: A DEA framework. Ecological Economics, 48(1), 37–47.

Zhou, P., Ang, B.W. and Poh, K.L. (2008) Measuring environmental performance under different environmental DEA technologies. Energy Economics, 30(1), 1–14.