EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT IN SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES USING PANEL DATA ANALYSIS

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to assess the agricultural development of ten Southeast European (SEE) countries from the aspect of key environmental, economic and social indicators of agricultural sustainability management from 2011 to 2020. The article uses a Cross-section panel data Fixed Effects Model to identify relations between agricultural development in SEE countries and mentioned indicators of sustainable agricultural development management. The common sample of all SEE countries shows the economic sustainability, but also the environmental and social unsustainability of their agricultural systems. At a disaggregated level, the subsample of European Union (EU) membership candidate countries also yields the same findings. In contrast, the subsample of EU member states indicates all three dimensions of sustainability, with the exception of the aspect of using renewables. Therefore, both groups of countries should use renewables more intensively in order to contribute to the promotion of their efficient, sovereign and sustainable agricultural growth.

Keywords

• sustainability of agricultural development
• panel data Fixed Effects Model
• renewable energy sources
• economic sustainability
• environmental and social unsustainability