Convergence of relative pollution levels among the countries of the Baltic Sea region

Abstract

CR Climate Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials CR 48:85-91 (2011) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01001 Contribution to the CR Special: 'Environmental change and socio-economic response in the Baltic region' Convergence of relative pollution levels among the countries of the Baltic Sea region Jacek Batóg*, Barbara Batóg Department of Econometrics and Statistics, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland *Email: batog@wneiz.pl ABSTRACT: In the present study, the concept of absolute and marginal convergence was applied to evaluate relative emissions trends for basic types of pollution within the countries of the Baltic Sea region. The proposed measure of relative pollution is an indicator for the ecological effectiveness of the analyzed economies. We tested the following hypotheses: (1) the relative levels of pollution among the countries of the Baltic Sea region are characterized by the same long-term equilibrium; (2) the dispersion of pollution diminishes over time. Convergence applies for the relative emissions of acidifying substances, greenhouse gases, and particulate matter. The contributions of the countries’ relative levels of pollution to the process of overall convergence were also estimated by means of a new concept of marginal vertical convergence. The results indicate that the estimated contributions vary from country to country. KEY WORDS: Pollution · Convergence Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Batóg J, Batóg B (2011) Convergence of relative pollution levels among the countries of the Baltic Sea region. Clim Res 48:85-91. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01001 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in CR Vol. 48, No. 1. Online publication date: July 19, 2011 Print ISSN: 0936-577X; Online ISSN: 1616-1572 Copyright © 2011 Inter-Research.