Trade impacts of external border measures under the European Union's plant health legislation.

BACKGROUND: This article assesses whether the European Union's (EU's) plant health regulations have had an impact on imports. A dynamic modelling approach was applied, using a two-step generalized method of moments estimator for panel data, and covering an 8-year period (2013-2020). The estimated equation includes volumes of trade, economic drivers, the trading partner, and variables capturing categories of import requirements (phytosanitary certificates, exemptions, restrictions) with regards to external border measures for enhanced biosecurity. RESULTS: From the analysis we can conclude that the import regime and its recent changes have had a limited impact, if any, on trade flows of the affected products. The most significant impact is found for products classified as high-risk plants, while the extension of the phytosanitary certificate requirement to new products seems to have had negligible effects on trade. CONCLUSION: Therefore, the plant protection regime for extra-EU trade seems to be not trade distorting while supplying a framework to enhance plant health in the EU. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Agricultural and innovation policies aimed at mitigating climate change.

The EU supports agricultural policies to help farmers meet the challenges of climate change (CC) by promoting more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. This study focuses on the European primary sector (agriculture, forestry, and fisheries), productive activities that meet humanity's basic needs, although this sector does not account for a dominant share of GDP. The analysis uses a panel data sample of 22 European countries for the period 2012-2019, and seeks to answer the following research questions: Is there a direct relationship between agricultural innovation efficiency and the technological advances implemented? What effect do GHG emissions and innovation efficiency have on CC? Which agricultural practices have the greatest effect on the volume of GHG emissions? The results indicate that the European primary sector has registered an average rise in productivity of 4%, mainly driven by technological improvements. This underscores the need for agricultural innovation policies that focus not only on improving aspects related to technology but also on making better use of existing resources. In addition, the econometric models estimated confirm that efficiency levels are the most influential determinants of temperature change, while GHG emissions are primarily explained by their own historical values. Ultimately, research and development is a tool that can be used to curb CC, along with the proper use of land and fertilizers. There is thus a need to foster novel agricultural practices that help reduce emissions while ensuring the efficiency of the sector.

Link between structural risk factors for adverse impacts of COVID-19 and food insecurity in developed and developing countries.

COVID-19 has had serious consequences for world food security; lockdowns and social distancing have led to changes in global food value chains, primarily affecting the poorest of the planet. The aim of this research is to analyse the relationship between food insecurity and the structural risk factors for adverse impacts of COVID-19. To that end, 12 contingency tables are constructed to identify the association between the pillars of the food insecurity index and the INFORM COVID-19 Risk Index. We use the Gamma coefficient as a measure of association. In addition, this paper proposes a synthetic index produced by applying the TOPSIS method, using the pillars of the two aforementioned indices (criteria) to establish a ranking of 112 countries (alternatives) ordered from highest to lowest risk faced in the key year of the pandemic, 2020. The results show that the two problems are connected, indicating to international organizations that countries with worse food insecurity will suffer more serious consequences from extreme situations such as the one experienced during the pandemic. The ranking established directs international organizations' attention to countries such as Haiti, Zambia and Burundi, highlighting their greater need for an injection of financial aid than other emerging economies. Conversely, Switzerland is the country with the lowest combined risk.

Renewable energy production capacity and consumption in Europe.

Faced with the prospect of achieving 32 % renewable energy (RE) consumption by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050, Europe has embarked on a path of promoting the use of clean energy through policies and investments essential to its development. Against this backdrop, the aim of the present article is to analyse both RE production capacity and the determinants of RE consumption in a sample of 30 European countries for the period 2010-2019. Through the construction of a synthetic measure by the zero unitarization method, the four types of RE (hydro, wind, solar and biofuels) are jointly assessed, yielding a ranking of countries categorized as being in a favourable, fairly favourable, rather unfavourable, or unfavourable situation. Furthermore, the possible relationship between RE production capacity and consumption is estimated with a sample of panel data (fixed effects and random effects). The results show that Sweden (SM: 0.419), Austria (SM: 0.384) and the Netherlands (SM: 0.381) are at the top of the ranking, demonstrating their leadership in RE generation and providing a model to follow for Eastern European countries whose production levels are still well below average. Moreover, the study provides evidence that the RE production capacity (coefficient: 0.253***), low gas emissions (coefficient: -0.479***), energy productivity (coefficient: 0.333***), and the size of the country (coefficient: 0.016***) foster the use of RE. Overall, European countries are on the right track to achieve the goals set, although they may be progressing at different speeds.

Environmental policies for the treatment of waste generated by COVID-19: Text mining review.

The rapid transmission of COVID-19 has meant that all economic and human efforts have been focused on confronting it, ignoring environmental aspects whose consequences are causing adverse situations all over the planet. The saturation of the sanitary system and confinement measures have multiplied the waste generated, which implies the need to adapt environmental policies to this new situation caused by the pandemic. It is a review article whose objective was to identify the environmental policies that would facilitate an adequate treatment of the waste generated by the pandemic. It was proposed to analyse the current lines of research developed on this paradigm, applying the text mining methodology. A systematic review of 111 studies published in environmental journals indexed in the Web of Science was carried out. The results identified three areas of interest: knowledge of transmission routes, management of the massive generation of plastics and appropriate treatment of solid waste in extreme situations. Leaders are called upon to implement the contingency plans to sustainably alleviate the enormous waste burden caused by society's adaptation to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Specifically, innovation aimed at achieving the reuse of medical products, the promotion of the circular economy and educational campaigns to promote clean environments should be encouraged.

Research lines on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business. A text mining analysis.

COVID-19 has brought about a marked slowdown in global economic development. Companies have been forced to adopt new managerial guidelines to adapt to the difficult conditions and to survive in this "new normal". The recent and still scarce literature in this field seeks to provide suitable solutions to prevent irreparable disruption and help strengthen business, but does not apply advanced statistical methods to that end. The aim of this paper is to identify the current research lines developed around COVID-19 and their impact on the business environment, applying text mining methodology. The analysis, which uses statistical software R, focuses on systematic review of studies published in prestigious journals of business and marketing areas. In light of the results obtained, three different areas of intervention were identified. The common thread that runs through all of them is the need to introduce new forms of action to improve citizens' quality of life.

Influence of environmental policies on waste treatment.

Countries' growth along with the need to protect the environment has made waste management a major global concern. In this study, a detailed analysis is carried out of the current situation in 41 countries belonging to the OECD and/or the European Union, in order to identify the most sustainable practices that could be successfully implemented in other nations with similar characteristics. Cluster analysis is used to detect homogeneous groups, shedding light on the possible connection between environmental policies and waste treatment. Contingency tables are employed to determine the relationship between the effectiveness of the policies adopted and two indicators of sustainable practices: material recycling and waste generation. The study is conducted using statistical information from the Sustainable Governance Indicators project and the OECD, with data referring to 2018. Five internally homogeneous groups of countries have been identified, where Israel, Turkey and USA have the lowest participation and compliance in environmental policies. Also, the results show that countries with a high degree of participation in environmental treaties (Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland) are making great progress, reducing the use of landfills in favour of other, more environmentally friendly options. Moreover, the contingency tables confirm that the effectiveness of policies translates into a clear trend towards recycling and, to some extent, reduces waste generation.

The effects on European importers' food safety controls in the time of COVID-19.

COVID-19 has highlighted the fragility of the global economic system. In just a few months, the consequences of the pandemic have left their mark on the affected countries at all levels and without exception. This article analyses the profile of food safety notifications reported by European countries in the first five months of 2020. The aim was to detect possible changes in food safety regulations imposed by control authorities that could aggravate the economic impacts of the pandemic. While COVID-19 does not appear to be a foodborne disease, some outbreaks have been linked to imported food, which might have affected the food control behaviour of importing countries. In this study, contingency tables and clustering were used to assess differences between years and notification characteristics and to detect homogeneous groups to help identify how the reported notifications might have changed. In the period considered in this study, the volume of notifications on most imported foodstuffs decreased considerably. This decrease was a direct consequence of the fall in international trade, which might have increased countries' reliance on domestic sources. The COVID-19 crisis has not caused a substantial change in the profile of European countries' in terms of the characteristics of reported notifications (product category and risk decision). However, the worst affected countries have replaced border rejections with alerts, which may indicate greater reliance on intra-EU markets.

Food Supply without Risk: Multicriteria Analysis of Institutional Conditions of Exporters.

International trade in food knows no borders, hence the need for prevention systems to avoid the consumption of products that are harmful to health. This paper proposes the use of multicriteria risk prevention tools that consider the socioeconomic and institutional conditions of food exporters. We propose the use of three decision-making methods-Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), Elimination et Choix Traduisant la Realité (ELECTRE), and Cross-Efficiency (CE)-to establish a ranking of countries that export cereals to the European Union, based on structural criteria related to the detection of potential associated risks (notifications, food quality, corruption, environmental sustainability in agriculture, and logistics). In addition, the analysis examines whether the wealth and institutional capacity of supplier countries influence their position in the ranking. The research was carried out biannually over the period from 2012-2016, allowing an assessment to be made of the possible stability of the markets. The results reveal that suppliers' rankings based exclusively on aspects related to food risk differ from importers' actual choices determined by micro/macroeconomic features (price, production volume, and economic growth). The rankings obtained by the three proposed methods are not the same, but present certain similarities, with the ability to discern countries according to their level of food risk. The proposed methodology can be applied to support sourcing strategies. In the future, food safety considerations could have increased influence in importing decisions, which would involve further difficulties for low-income countries.

Analysis of the efficiency of African countries through their Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity.

Population inequality and climate change are two of the factors that are most disruptive to the ecological balance; accordingly, there have been countless studies in recent years focusing on analysing the Ecological Footprint (EF) and Biocapacity (BC). The markedly disparate characteristics of African countries have motivated the choice of this geographic area as the focus of the research. First, this study uses Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to calculate the efficiency of 45 African countries, taking their EF and country size as determinants of the level of production. Second, the effect of time on EF and BC is analysed using Ordinary Least Squares estimation, in order to determine possible trends in both variables and to draw conclusions that indicate the most appropriate environmental policies to adopt. The results reveal similar efficiency levels between one group of countries with ecological deficits and another with ecological surpluses. Also, the countries that have a deficit in terms of BC, but a level of resource consumption appropriate to their production volume, need to introduce technological advances that foster sustainable economic development, helping them to adapt to their existing BC. In addition, by incorporating innovative technologies, these countries should be able to transform their existing overpopulation problem into a potential labour force that fosters their sustainable growth.