Economic Performance Analysis of Selected Blue Economy Sectors in Estonia and Finland

Abstract

The study aims to assess productivity and efficiency of selected blue economy sectors in two neighbouring countries: Estonia and Finland. The analysis relies on the Amadeus database for both countries, implementing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and calculating partial productivity measures. The results of the study show that, on average, blue sectors report high performance indicators in coastal regions of the countries, the only exceptions being the tourism and bio and subsea activities sectors in Estonia and marine (cargo) transportation in Finland. The common pattern of imperfectly efficient blue sectors in both countries is a substantial excess of fixed assets, which convey extra costs for business activities and, to some extent, generate excessive environmental pressures. The special nature of a shared blue economic area of Estonia and Finland stipulates close cross-border cooperation as a major tool to improve performance of the imperfectly efficient sectors through shared “best practice” operations, technologies and infrastructures. However, the lack of appropriate cross-border statistical data restricts analytical opportunities and development of policy recommendations.