Óscar Rodil-Marzábal

This study analyses the environmental impact of African countries' integration into global value chains (GVCs) following the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework. A panel dataset of 39 countries for 1990–2018 is used to test the classic EKC hypothesis and a global approach to EKC (GEKC), where total GVC participation per capita is introduced as a central explanatory variable. The analysis uses dynamic fixed‐effects models with country and year fixed effects to account for emissions persistence. The results do not provide consistent evidence supporting the traditional EKC. Instead, significant nonlinear GVC–emissions associations emerge in the full sample and among low‐GVC countries, while no significant relationship is detected among high‐GVC countries. The study contributes by linking GVC integration to emissions trajectories beyond income growth alone. These findings suggest that the environmental implications of GVC integration are not uniform across African economies and depend on the degree of integration into global production networks.

This study aims to examine the innovation efforts approach through long-term panel data and its impact on innovation outputs, in contrast to the majority of innovation studies that rely on short-term panel data with limited samples. It also addresses the debate and disparity in previous studies concerning the effects of R&D on innovation output. The data source is the Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) of Spain’s Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. The results show that internal and external innovation efforts in all of Spain and the other regions of Spain had the most positive effect on innovation output among the regions, while Cataluña, Madrid, and Andalucía exhibited the lowest positive effects. The study recommends establishing coordination between research and training centers with an emphasis on the participation of the national and regional levels, to formulate innovation policies adapted to a business environment.

Η μετάβαση στην κυκλική οικονομία αποτελεί κρίσιμη πρόκληση για την Ασία, λόγω της εξάρτησης από ορυκτά καύσιμα, των αναποτελεσματικών συστημάτων διαχείρισης αποβλήτων και της περιορισμένης περιβαλλοντικής ευαισθητοποίησης. Το πρόγραμμα CEBCAT (Building Capacities for a Transition to a Circular Economy) στοχεύει στην αντιμετώπιση αυτών των ζητημάτων, προωθώντας την αειφορία μέσω μεταπτυχιακών σπουδών, καινοτομίας και διεθνούς συνεργασίας. Με τη δημιουργία εκπαιδευτικού υλικού και την ενίσχυση της συνεργασίας Ευρώπης-Ασίας, το πρόγραμμα εστιάζει στη διδακτική των φυσικών και επιδιώκει να καλλιεργήσει τον επιστημονικό γραμματισμό και να ενδυναμώσει επαγγελματίες και ακαδημαϊκά ιδρύματα, συμβάλλοντας στη βιώσιμη ανάπτυξη σε χώρες της Ασίας, ευθυγραμμίζοντας τις δράσεις του με την Ευρωπαϊκή Πράσινη Συμφωνία.

The transition from a linear to a circular economy (CE) is a pressing imperative for Southeast Asia, a region facing rapid industrialization and environmental risks. This study, part of the CEBCAT project, examines the current state of higher education in Indonesia, Laos, and Vietnam with respect to CE and sustainability. The purpose was to identify existing knowledge and ability gaps and instructional problems, thereby informing the development of a master's curriculum in CE and sustainability. Using a mixed-methods approach across six partner universities in Asia, data were collected from 103 individuals, including students, academic staff, and industry professionals. The findings reveal that, although there is a foundational awareness of sustainability, a deep conceptual understanding of the circular economy is limited. Critical skill gaps were identified in practical application, environmental impact assessment, and digital literacy, and a strong preference for experiential learning over purely theoretical or online instruction. However, the study highlights significant institutional barriers, including limited funding, outdated resources, and heavy faculty workloads. Effective CE capacity building requires a shift toward interdisciplinary, practice-based curricula supported by robust industry partnerships and institutional investment.

This paper explores the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis within East and Southeast Asia. The analysis, drawing on OECD and World Bank data, investigates how economic growth correlates with environmental indicators amid intense global trade and integration into global value chains. The findings indicate that while GDP growth and increased energy consumption initially raise emissions, higher integration in global value chains and high-tech sectors can mitigate these effects. The study emphasizes the role of technological innovation and energy efficiency, advocating for policies that foster economic growth alongside environmental sustainability. The results contribute to understanding how to align economic objectives with ecological sustainability in a highly interconnected global economy.

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis has become an important topic in the literature on the effects of growth on the environment, albeit surrounded by some controversy and nuance. Although this hypothesis has been analyzed in the literature in multiple ways and using different variables, there is still a gap in the consideration of global value chains (GVCs), which delve into the international division of production. This is particularly important in the intermediate stages of production, as they include tasks with a greater environmental impact. This research aims to analyze the environmental effects of economic growth and foreign trade linked to GVCs in a sample of 12 countries of East and Southeast Asia, given their strong insertion in GVCs. Based on the EKC, variables such as GDP per capita, environmental impact, and renewable energy consumption are incorporated. As a novelty, the research also includes GVCs participation and position indexes, and different measures of CO₂ emissions. Our results confirm the existence of a nonlinear relationship between economic activity and its environmental effects, although with important nuances depending on the mode of insertion of each country in GVCs. In this sense, although all the selected countries increased their total emissions, substantial disparities are observed depending on the perspective considered (producer, consumer, and exports). Ultimately, it is concluded that, for an effective reduction of the environmental impact in these countries, it is essential to design policy measures, targeting new technologies, consumption and production patterns, and attracting green foreign direct investment.

This paper aims to test the pollution haven hypothesis within the European Union (EU), especially among newcomer countries, through the participation in global value chains (GVCs). The study used a combination of multiregional input–output method and multilevel mixed econometric analysis to investigate the relationship between global value chain trade flows, foreign direct investment flows, energy consumption, and carbon emissions across countries, sectors, and time. The study tested both the “pollution haven” and “pollution halo” hypotheses and found a non-linear relationship between foreign capital flows and carbon emissions, which became less relevant after the economic integration process. The results suggest the existence of a pollution haven in Europe. Although Eastern economies still exhibit problematic issues in relation to pollution control, they have made significant progress in reducing their emissions intensity. The conclusions include some policy recommendations based on the main findings of the research.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the participation in the global textile and apparel value chain with special attention, first, to the case of three dynamic and interrelated economies (Mexico, the United States, and China); and second, to a general approach to a larger sample of countries through the analysis of trade in value added. From the descriptive analysis, a high domestic share in each country’s exports is found. However, China is the leading exporter in the industry, accounting for around a third of the domestic value added in the global textile final demand. An econometric estimation has also been carried out to observe the effects of tariffs, FDI, and labor costs on the total and backward participation in the textile GVC. In this case, the sample has been extended to 39 developed and 22 developing countries. The results reveal tariff protection as a determinant of the degree of participation of the sector, especially when backward participation and developing economies are considered. However, FDI and labor costs only show the expected results in the case of developing countries. This may be due to the different tasks performed by developing economies (primarily manufacturing) versus developed economies (branding, design) within the sector’s value chain.