Environmental technical efficiency in EU member and candidate countries: A parametric hyperbolic distance function approach

Abstract

This paper investigates environmental technical efficiency for a panel of European Union (EU) member and candidate countries for the period 1990–2011 using parametric hyperbolic distance function. The paper also examines the environmental technical efficiency convergence among the sampled countries. The main results suggest that environmental technical efficiency scores vary among EU member and candidate countries. The EU-15 countries in contrast to the new members and the candidate countries have a greater potential for reducing CO2 emissions while increasing GDP and reducing energy use simultaneously. The results also indicate the existence of environmental technical efficiency convergence among EU member and candidate countries.