SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION IN EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Abstract

The paper has the aim to highlight the impact of innovation on sustainable development in Eastern and Central European countries. In this wiew, a sinthetic measure of sustainability in these countries is calculated, taking into account ten statistical indicators (related to socio-economic development, sustainable consumption and production, social inclusion, demographic changes, public health, primary energy consumption, share of renewable energy in final consumption energy, sustainable transport, official development assistance granted to these countries) from EUROSTAT database. A comparative analysis of the level of sustainability during 2005-2014 in Eastern and Central Europe is followed by an analysis of the impact of innovation (measured by eco-innovation index) on sustainable development, using panel data techniques. The findings show that eco-innovation had a positive impact on sustainability in these countries in the examined period.This result could be used as a rationale for policy makers from these countries in designing measures for eco-innovation stimulation, aiming in this way to move forward for achieving the planned national targets within the European Union Sustainable Development Strategy (EU-SDS).

Keywords

• sustainable development
• innovation
• panel data analysis