Synthetic Measure Of Development Research Articles

Circular manufacturing and Industry 5.0. assessing material flows in the manufacturing process in relation to e-waste streams

Abstract The article aims (1) to evaluate material flows in the manufacturing process reflecting the level of circular manufacturing of European Union countries and (2) to estimate the relationship between the level of circular manufacturing and the volume of e-waste put on the market, illustrating the implementation effect of Industry 5.0 technologies. A systematic country classification was created according to development conditions for environmentally sustainable enterprises and trends in e-waste volumes. Multidimensional data analysis and the linear ordering method were used to achieve the research objectives. The dynamics of changes in the identified variables were analysed using dynamics indexes and the average annual rate of change. Relationships were estimated using Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient. The main research result is the estimated synthetic development measure illustrating the level of circular manufacturing in the context of material flows. Significant differences were observed between the synthetic development measure values representing the level of circular manufacturing in European Union countries. This means countries’ circular manufacturing levels are significantly higher than others. Moreover, the values of correlation coefficients were estimated between the level of circular manufacturing and the volume of e-waste put on the market and between the average annual rate of change of the synthetic development measure and the average annual rate of change of the e-waste volume. The coefficient values do not confirm a statistically significant relationship between the indicated variables. Most countries have average conditions for developing environmentally sustainable businesses, but at the same time, they show negative trends in the volume of e-waste generated.

Impact of economic crises on long-term regional development in Poland

The existing research indicates large differences in the degree of socio-economic development at the local and regional level in Poland. The study presented in this paper identifies the trends characterising the long-term economic development of regions in Poland. The research sample consisted of all types of gminas (lowest administrative units in Poland), i.e. rural, urban-rural, urban, and cities with powiat (county) status. A classification method based on the pattern and anti-pattern of development in a dynamic perspective was applied in the analyses, which made it possible to compare the values of the synthetic measure of development over time. The data used in the study came from the Local Data Bank of Statistics Poland and covered the years 2006–2021. The aim of the research was to determine the longterm economic path of development of the different types of gminas by voivodship (highestlevel administrative unit in Poland). The novelty of the study is not only the fact that it covers a long research period, but, more importantly, that it allows the comparison of the effects of two crises (of a different nature) on the development of gminas. The first of them resulted from the collapse of the US real estate market in 2007, and the second was caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A strong differentiation in terms of the level of development of the particular types of gminas was observed across voivodships, as well as a strong similarity of their development paths throughout the studied period. The results based on the dynamic measure of development also indicate that rural and urban-rural gminas were more resilient to crises than urban gminas and cities with powiat status. It also became evident that gminas were significantly more resistant to the negative effects of the pandemic than to the financial crisis.

The Innovation Gap of National Innovation Systems in the European Union

The main aim of the paper is to assess the innovation gap between the national innovation systems (NIS) of the European Union (EU) and the average level of innovation of EU economies. The study takes into account NIS identified in the literature, i.e., (a) developed systems and (b) developing systems. In the theoretical part of the paper, the literature in the fields of NIS and the innovation gap is reviewed, the definitions and selected classifications of NIS around the world are presented, and the concept of the innovation gap between countries is defined. In the empirical part, the level of innovation in EU economies is assessed using Hellwig’s synthetic development indicator. In order to measure the level of innovation in individual NISs, arithmetic means of national values of the synthetic measure of development (innovation) are used. The innovation gap is calculated as the quotient between the level of innovation of individual NISs analyzed in the study and the average level of innovation in EU economies. The study covered 2010 and 2021. The paper formulates the following research hypothesis: the level of innovation in EU economies is determined by the type of NIS. Consequently, developing system countries are less innovative and, thus, are characterized by an innovation gap in relation to the EU average. The results of the study confirm the hypothesis. The relationship between the innovation level of the EU economies and the type of NIS, as well as the assessment of the innovation gap between the national innovation systems of the EU and the average level of innovation of the EU economies, constitute the value‑added of the paper.

Analiza konwergencji gospodarczej i społecznej krajów Unii Europejskiej w czasach kryzysu

Purpose – Determine the level of social and economic convergence of the various countries of the European Union and its changes over time by creating rankings of countries. Research method – A synthetic measure of development was created using various normalization methods. In addition, the quality of the classification carried out was checked, using Kendall’s rank concordance coefficient, which made it possible to examine whether there is a process of gamma convergence between the countries of the European Union. The study was carried out for selected 8 years from the period 2000–2022, which made it possible to assess changes over time. Results – The occurrence of statistically significant gamma convergence in the group of countries studied was confirmed throughout the period under review. In 2009, the convergence process was weakened due to the economic collapse caused by the global economic crisis, and in 2016 it was weakened by the occurrence of the banking crisis in Europe and the onset of reflation after a period of falling prices in the economy. The outbreak of armed conflict in Ukraine in 2022, also indicates a negative impact on the gamma convergence process. It should be noted that Brexit did not have a significant impact on the convergence process in the group of countries studied. Originality / value / implications / recommendations – Constructing a synthetic measure of social and economic development makes it possible to rank countries according to accepted measures that meet the conditions of universality, variability, validity and stability.

The Impact of a City on Its Environment: The Prism of Demography and Selected Environmental and Technical Aspects Based on the Case of Major Lower Silesian Cities

This article discusses the problem of the impact exerted by cities on the surrounding space. As an example, the Lower Silesia region was selected, characterized by agricultural, industrial and natural areas present in its close proximity. Four major cities and the surrounding municipalities (30 objects in total) were covered by the observation. The research was carried out in the period of 1995–2020 and was based on the data provided by Statistics Poland—Local Date Bank. Statistical tools were used which allowed for obtaining the results, enabling inference and the formulation of recommendations. An analytical method was applied which included the linear ordering method and synthetic development of measures. This resulted in preparing rankings of the analyzed objects (municipalities) and making the respective comparisons. The obtained results indicate that a continuously deepening imbalance in the distribution of the demographic potential is observed in the analyzed region. Although the capital city maintained the number of residents at a constant level, the population of the other analyzed cities decreased. Depopulation affected almost half of the 30 analyzed municipalities, and it is a serious problem in striving for the sustainable development of the region. The problem was exacerbated by the absence of a correlation between the demographic potential growth and the increase in the synthetic development measure value which characterized the water and sewage system. This means that the infrastructure preventing anthropopressure and providing basic services directly influencing the quality of life is developing at a different pace than the increase in the number of residents. The above indicates the need for the immediate development of a conscious settlement policy for the region of Lower Silesia. The obtained results constitute a warning addressed to those responsible for the development of spatial policy covering the cities and the surrounding areas, including rural areas.

Comparison of National Innovation Systems in the European Union Countries

The effective operation of national innovation systems can be a source of many opportunities, but it cannot be forgotten that innovation in itself may mean limiting but also generating various types of risks for the functioning of the local market. The main aim of the article is to present the concept and classification of national innovation systems in the world and to try to answer whether the type of NIS determines the level of innovation of the economies of the European Union countries. The following research thesis was formulated in the study: the type of National Innovation System determines a certain level of innovation in the economy of an European Union country, i.e., in countries belonging to a developed NIS, the level of innovation of the economy is higher than in countries belonging to developing systems. The results of the analysis confirm the research thesis. In the empirical part, the level of innovation in the European Union countries was assessed using the synthetic measure of development (SMD) by Z. Hellwig. Based on the obtained values of the synthetic measure of development (innovation), a ranking of the innovation of the economies of the EU countries was compiled and groups of countries with a similar degree of innovation in the economy were distinguished. The developed ranking of the European Union countries was compared with the NSI classification presented in the theoretical part of the article. The study covered 2010 and 2019.

Industry 4.0 and Social Development in the Aspect of Sustainable Development: Relations in EC Countries

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to focus on the analysis and assessment of the level of development of Industry 4.0, the social development in the context of the implementation of the concept of sustainable development and to determine the relationship of these phenomena in EU countries. Design/Methodology/Approach: Due to the fact that both Industry 4.0 and social development are complex issues, the research uses taxonomic measures based on the TOPSIS method, which replace the multi-feature description of the studied objects by a single aggregate size, which greatly facilitates their analysis. For the purposes of this article, an attempt was made to construct a synthetic measure of the development of Industry 4.0, as well as a synthetic measure of social development in the context of implementing the concept of sustainable development based on a previously selected set of diagnostic variables. The research also used the so-called threshold method to classify EU countries into homogeneous typological groups. In addition, a correlation analysis was carried out in order to examine whether there is a correlation between the analysed phenomena. Findings: The results of the research indicate that there is a moderate variation in the level of social development in the EU countries in the context of implementing the concept of sustainable development and a significant variation in the level of development of Industry 4.0. The analysis showed that there is a very high positive correlation between the two. Practical Implications: Modern economies are faced with the need to meet the challenges resulting from the fourth industrial revolution, for which the emergence of Industry 4.0 is significant. The changes resulting from the implementation of the concept of Industry 4.0 concern not only industry and its enterprises, but also affect the overall shape of socio-economic processes. Originality/value: Social development considered in connection with the development of Industry 4.0 a relatively new economic category, still not well described in the literature. The way they are combined in the article is a relatively new proposal, important from the point of view of each of these areas.

Smart Specialisation as a Strategy for Implementing the Regional Innovation Development Policy—Poland Case Study

Regional Innovation and Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3) are treated as one of the key tools in implementing the concept of smart and sustainable growth. The strategies make it possible to focus investments on research, development and innovation (RD & I) in the areas showing the greatest economic and competitive potential of the regions. The article is based on the assumption that innovativeness on the one hand determines and on the other hand is determined by smart and sustainable growth. The aim of the analysis is to present new research assumptions and the results of the regional benchmarking based on a synthetic measure of development, and verification of the relationships between the level of innovative development and the economic development in the regions. This article presents the results of a research study covering all the sixteen regions of Poland, the outcome of which is an indicator of regional innovativeness based on 17 features, which means that the study considered a total of 2992 features. The methods applied in the study included the zero unitarisation method, the linear ordering method, and the Pearson correlation coefficient. The completed research study has shown the stability of positions held by the individual regions and the considerable, persisting disproportions in the innovation development between the regions taking the positions at both ends of the ranking. Moreover, a moderate positive correlation was identified between the GDP per capita level and the value of the synthetic measure of regional innovation development in 2009. The completed analyses made it possible to formulate the conclusions that show the benefits, weaknesses and dilemmas related to the introduction of smart specialisations for sustainable and innovative regional development in Poland over the past decade.

Socio-Economic Potential of Regions – Theory and Practice

Abstract Research background: The paper refers to the social and economic potential of regions and their level of development. The crucial issue is not only how to measure the level of development but also their potential and what are the ways of defining this. Purpose: The principal aim of this paper is an analysis and evaluation of the social and economic potential of poviats of the West Pomeranian Province through the prism of their level of development. Research methodology: The measurements of the level of development were carried out using a synthetic measure of development. The level of poviats development was examined in aggregate for all specified factors and broken down into economic, socio-demographic, infrastructure and environmental protection factors. Data selection was made by using a factor analysis. As part of the study, a statistical analysis of potential factors was also carried out. The analysis refers to the following selected periods: 2008, 2014 and 2018 which allowed for an observation of phenomena over time in the investigated period. The research used the Central Statistical Office’s annual statistics for the specific districts. Results: The research results confirm the complexity of the study of the phenomenon of the level of socioeconomic development of LGUs, the large diversity of surveyed units regardless of the study period and their low level of development. Novelty: The novelty is that the analysis was conducted in stages, which allowed learning about the potential’s nature on the one hand and the factors forming it on the other. A material element of the research was also identifying possible directions for the use of the findings.

Eco-Banking in Relation to Financial Performance of the Sector—The Evidence from Poland

With the advent of corporate social responsibility, practical aspects of environmental responsibility have gained importance and recognition among both manufacturing and service enterprises, including financial services. This trend is also evidenced extensively in the literature. On the other hand, the literature reveals a significant gap in the research into the matter of environmental responsibility of banks in the light of their financial effectiveness. In addition, the European Union (EU) regulations require banking entities to provide reports of any activities related to protection of natural resources. Two important dilemmas arise in this context—how to measure the environmental involvement of the banking sector and how to relate this type of involvement to the sector’s financial effectiveness? We applied Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), linear ordering methods—standardized sum method and synthetic measure of development, Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlation coefficients, Student’s t and Mann-Whitney U tests and boxplots to measure environmental responsibility of banks and to examine the empirical relationship between environmental engagement and bank financial performance data. We also used analytical methods for the study of financial and non-financial reports of banks. We posited three research hypotheses related to measurement of environmental involvement of banks (ecologization) and to correlations between the sector’s financial effectiveness and its environmental involvement. The study does not confirm any direct influence of banks’ financial results upon the scale of their environmental involvement. Based on the above, the we also made an attempt at explaining the results and identifying directions of further research into the subject.

Spatial differentiation in the EU fund absorption in Poland – a regional outlook

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to conduct an analysis of spatial differentiation of the EU fund absorption of the programming period of 2007-2013 as well as the period of 2014- 2020 in its regional dimension, i.e. at the level of 380 districts in Poland. The article attempts to test a hypothesis according to which in Poland there exist significant spatial variations in using European funds. Design/methodology/approach: In order to specify the level of the socio-economic development of districts, the Hellwig method has been used, by means of which a synthetic measure of development has been construed. Moreover, the compilation has examined the correlation between the discrepancies between the socio-economic level in respective districts and the amount of the community funds used in specific regions. Findings: Based on the research conducted in this paper, one may conclude that the absorption of EU funds stemming from structural funds as well as the cohesion fund is highly spatially varied. In Poland, from the standpoint of districts, there are significant spatial discrepancies in the use of EU funds of the 2007-2013 as well as 2014-2020 financial perspective. Research limitations/implications: In the future, research can be extended to other countries. The research limitation may be, however, the availability of empirical data. Social implications: The results of the research may prove useful in the planning and redistribution of EU funds by central and local government in the new financial perspective 2021-2027 in Poland. Originality/value The article presents a new approach to research on the spatial differentiation of the absorption of EU funds using the Hellwig method and the relationship between the absorption of these funds and the change in the level of socio-economic development.

TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL MUNICIPALITIES IN THE MAŁOPOLSKA VOIVODSHIP

The paper aims to identify the level of socio-economic development of rural municipalities in the Małopolska voivodship, present relevant development rankings, and describe changes in this area in 2003-2017. The development processes of rural municipalities are analysed in the context of the functions they perform as well as their position in the spatial system of Małopolska. Selected diagnostic characteristics allow for the calculation of the synthetic measure of development, leading to a linear presentation of Małopolska’s rural municipalities and their ranking in terms of socio-economic development. The ordering of municipalities is based on Hellwig’s method. Empirical analysis is based on the statistical data of the Central Statistical Office and the Statistical Office in Cracow. Development trends in the rural municipalities of Małopolska and relative growth gaps have a persistent character over time. The highest development levels are recorded in urbanised areas in which agricultural functions are considerably reduced, and are located in close vicinity of the regional centre of Cracow. On the other hand, the least developed rural municipalities in the region include those with a dominant agricultural function. The conducted research indicates that functional factors in the development of rural municipalities, related to economic structures, as well as spatial factors, related to the vicinity of regional centres, are closely correlated.

Logistics performance of European Union markets: Towards the development of entrepreneurship in the transport and storage sector

The markets globalization is one of the factors creating conditions for the development of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship does not have one generally accepted definition. Most often, entrepreneurship is perceived as the ability to increase the number of enterprises. Entrepreneurship can be understood as the potential to identify and use development opportunities regardless of own resources. Entrepreneurship is therefore associated with such areas as new organizational forms, stimulation of innovation and cooperation with the entrepreneurial environment. Unfortunately, enterprises face many difficulties which can have the supply and demand nature. These difficulties hinder the enterprise functioning on the market and its development. Logistics performance perceived as the implementation of the highest quality of logistics standards allows overcoming the difficulties of entrepreneurship, especially for the transport and storage sector. For this reason, the article aims to determine the relationship between logistics performance and the entrepreneurship rate for selected European Union countries. Logistics performance was determined by a synthetic measure of development estimated using numerical taxonomy methods for variables forming the Logistics Performance Index. The same method was used to build the entrepreneurship rate, accepting as variables selected entrepreneurship indicators for the transport and storage sector. The correlation analysis was performed with the use of the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. The years 2014-2016 were analyzed. The availability and completeness of data dictated the choice of years, countries and indicators for analysis.

Sustainable Waste Logistics and the Development of Trade in Recyclable Raw Materials in Poland and Hungary

This article aims to propose a methodological framework to determine the degree of the dynamic impact of the effect of activities in the field of sustainable waste logistics on the development of trade in recyclable raw materials in the chosen countries of the European Union, especially in Poland and Hungary. In order to determine the dynamic interdependence between the indicated phenomena, econometric tools associated with the vector autoregression model were used, namely: Granger causality tests, impulse response function and variance decomposition of forecast errors. The tools used will not only identify the direction of the causal interdependence between the effects of sustainable logistics activities and the development of trade in recyclable raw materials, but also allow to determine the strength of the interaction between these variables. The conducted research shows that changes in the environmental effects of waste logistics activities are the Granger cause of changes occurring in the trade of renewable raw materials, especially in Hungary. Considering adequately delayed values of the synthetic development measure of the environmental effects of waste logistics increases the accuracy of predictions for changes in the trade of recyclable raw materials.

SPATIAL DIVERSIFICATION OF THE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT AND THE FINANCIAL SITUATION OF RURAL COMMUNES IN THE ŚWIĘTOKRZYSKIE VOIVODSHIP

The aim of the article is to evaluate the spatial disproportions in the development of rural municipalities in relation to their financial situation with the use of a non-standard synthetic measure. The analysis in the area of finance and development of communes concerned the years 2011, 2014 and 2017. The study covered 70 rural communes in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Data exploration was possible due to the use of data from the Local Data Bank of the Central Statistical Office and the Regional Audit Chamber. The method used in the work is a synthetic measure of development and the financial situation. Local self-government can fulfil its tasks when it is equipped with stable and efficient sources of income and an appropriate level of endogenous resources. The economic potential, infrastructure, financial resources are an important development factor. The group of communes with the best situation in terms of development was created, among others, by Sitkówka-Nowiny, Morawica and Strawczyn Communes, which are located in the Kielce district and are characterized by a good financial situation and economic potential. The research showed disproportions between rural communes characterized by an industrial function and units with a traditional agricultural function.

Sustainable Development in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs): Challenges and Opportunities

The purpose of the study was to analyze and present the position of the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) in terms of levels of sustainable development concept implementation in the years 2010–2016. The second purpose and the added value of the conducted research was to identify the selected opportunities and challenges related to sustainable development in the CEE countries. The research was based on 66 indicators that monitored the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the global perspective. Eurostat (database: sustainable development indicators) was the source of data in terms of their availability and integrity. Implementation of the concept of sustainable development was assessed using the synthetic measure of development (SMD). The past and current socioeconomic situation in the group of CEE countries is presented in the introduction. The theoretical aspects of sustainable development are discussed, taking into account social, economic, environmental, spatial, as well as institutional and political areas. The concept of integrated order is also considered. The core part of the study presents the research results showing the position of the CEE countries regarding the implementation levels of the sustainable development concept. The value of SMD in individual years is specified for each of the analyzed countries. It was concluded that the situation of all countries improved over the analyzed period of time. Nevertheless, the current situation is not favorable in any of the analyzed countries: However, the Czech Republic and Slovenia are very close to achieving such status. Apart from the aforementioned two countries, in 2016 a moderate situation was observed in Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Croatia. Bulgaria and Romania still remain at a disadvantage, despite having made noticeable progress.

MULTIDIMENSIONAL STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN LIVING CONDITIONS IN MAZOWIECKIE VOIVODSHIP COMPARED TO OTHER POLISH VOIVODESHIPS IN THE PERIOD 2005-2016

The main aim of the study was to determine living conditions in Mazowieckie Voivodship on the background of Poland. The analysis covered the period of 12 years (2005-2016). The characteristics used in the analysis described: safety, education, environmental conditions, housing, labour market and healthcare. The research of living conditions was conducted using the synthetic development measure of Hellwig. The obtained results confirmed the leading role of Mazowieckie Voivodship in the ranking of living conditions. It also enabled the identification other voivodships with the best living conditions. These were also voivodships with metropolitan centres: Śląskie and Małopolskie. On the other hand, Lubuskie and Warmińsko-Mazurskie were classified as regions with the worst living conditions. In this case, the impact of regional centers is noticeable mainly in the neighbourhood areas areas, which causes relatively worse living conditions in the peripheral zones of the region, and thus the entire regions.

Sustainable Development in African Countries: An Indicator-Based Approach and Recommendations for the Future

This study addresses problems related to the level of sustainable development in African countries in the years 2002–2016. The introduction presents the current situation in Africa, the occurring transformations as well as the goals and definitions of sustainable development. The significance of social order in the aforementioned development has also been highlighted. The next part of the article features sustainability indicators, selected for the analysis and covering all the essential aspects, i.e., social, economic, environmental, spatial, institutional and political areas. The applied research method was the synthetic measure of development (SMD), whereas the data for calculations and analyses were retrieved from the sources of the World Bank. The key part of the study presents the research results showing the position of individual countries regarding the level of implementation of the sustainable development concept in the period 2002–2016. As part of the added value the selected problems of Africa and ways of solving them, along with the recommendations for the future, were listed and characterised. It was concluded that the situation of the African countries, in terms of their sustainable development level, improved significantly in the period under analysis. The crucial problem is that the discussed countries are still experiencing a relatively unfavourable situation in this respect. Cape Verde and Ghana are among the countries recording the best results. The least favourable situation was observed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Chad, Central African Republic and Eritrea.

Considering the level of socio-economic development of rural areas in the context of infrastructural and traditional consolidations in Poland

Agricultural land consolidations help solve structural problems caused by land fragmentation. The FAO classifies the impacts of land consolidation at three levels: firstly, there is the micro-level, where land consolidation aims at changing the farm structure. Secondly, there is the meso-level where land consolidation has broader aims of changing rural communities by improving the infrastructure, the natural environment, and the management of natural resources, landscape and, consequently, the spatial distribution of economic activities. Finally, there is the macro-level where the focus is on changes which can positively affect the whole country by reducing the disparities between rural and urban areas. Therefore, one of the advantages arising from the implementation of consolidations should be positive socio-economic changes in rural areas, resulting from the implementation of agricultural land consolidations. In this study, the Authors took on an assessment of the effects of consolidations at the meso-level. Another aim of the study was to identify the effects of consolidations on changes in socio-economic development of rural areas. A question was raised as to whether there is a correlation between the rate of changes in socio-economic development of rural areas and the implementation of agricultural land consolidations in this area.The level of socio-economic development was assessed based on an indicator of the rate of changes, calculated as the difference between the levels of commune development indicator for the years 2004 and 2016. In order to determine the synthetic indicator, one of the taxonomic methods, namely Hellwig’s synthetic measure of development, was applied. The study concerned communes of Lubelskie and Małopolskie Voivodeships in which both traditional and infrastructural consolidations had been implemented over an area of at least 15% of the commune’s area.The study indicates an increase in the level of socio-economic development of the communes in which traditional consolidations were implemented. The study results indicate that the implementation of traditional consolidations of agricultural land is one of the factors contributing to an increase in the level of socio-economic development of rural areas.At the same time, it was found that infrastructural consolidations understood as a corrective tool, implemented at the time of the construction of linear infrastructure projects, do not always serve their function of an improvement in the land layout in rural areas. The conducted study indicates that in the communes in which infrastructural land consolidations have been implemented, no improvement in the conditions of socio-economic development has taken place.

An Analysis of Dynamic Changes in Selected Areas of Sustainable Development of the European Union Countries

Abstract The aim of the study is to determine the pace and directions of changes (understood as: improvement or deterioration) occurring in selected areas of sustainable development of EU Member States. The paper analyzes dynamics of changes in selected areas of sustainable development monitored on the basis of headline indicators published by Eurostat from 2008 to 2015. In the paper, three variants of reference points of synthetic measure of development were considered. On the basis of the obtained results, the countries in which the improvement in the sustainable development and its deterioration can be observed were identified. The results have confirmed the existence of significant developmental disparities between EU Member States in this field, but it should be noted that the obtained results depend on the methodological approach both to the selection of features and the adoption of a specific standardization formula, as well as the considered variants of reference points. The results obtained can be utilized in subsequent years to examine the directions of change observed both from the point of view of European Union as one organization, and the individual EU Member States.