Revista de Economie Mondială (Jul 2020)
INCENTIVES FOR THE TRANSITION TOWARDS THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Abstract
In the current economic context, marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and the related uncertainty, decision-makers worldwide are looking for viable post-crisis solutions, being aware that the problems we are facing require an exhaustive and sustainable approach. The circular economy is getting more and more attention, especially at the European Union (EU) level, as an alternative to the linear economic model that prevailed until now. Using the latest technologies, methods and techniques to recycle and produce secondary raw materials is paramount for the transition to the circular economy. Consequently, our paper analyses if at the EU level there is a statistically significant correlation between the number of patents related to recycling and secondary raw materials and the persons with tertiary education and employed in science and technology. To this end, we rely on the Eurostat database and the tools of statistical analysis, and conclude that there is a trend synergy between the analysed variables, useful în the context of promoting the circular economy.
