The COVID-19 pandemic induces the worst economic downturn since the Second World War, requiring governments to design large-scale recovery plans to overcome this crisis. This paper quantitatively assesses the potential of government investments in eco-friendly construction projects to boost the economy and simultaneously realise environmental gains through reduced energy consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis uses a Computable General Equilibrium model that examines the macroeconomic impact of the COVID-19 crisis in a small open economy (Belgium). Subsequently, the impact of the proposed policy is assessed through comparative analysis for macroeconomic parameters as well as CO 2 equivalent emissions for four scenarios. Our findings demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic damages economies considerably, however, the reduction in emissions is less than proportionate. Still, well-designed public policies can reverse this trend, achieving both economic growth and a disproportionally large decrease in emissions. Moreover, the positive effect of such a decoupling policy on GDP is even stronger during the pandemic than compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. This is the result of a targeted, investment-induced green transition towards low energy-intensive economic activities. Finally, this paper describes how the net effect on the government budget is positive through the indirect gains of the economic uptake.

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The European Commission wants to create a favourable policy environment for supporting the establishment and development of farmers' cooperatives and other producer organizations. This paper -for the first time -presents the results of an effectiveness measurement of the existing support measures for farmers' cooperatives throughout the EU (in eight agricultural sectors). More in particular, it is investigated whether the cooperatives market share is positively or negatively influenced by policy measures. The study identifies general trends, strengths, and weaknesses among the policy measures applied in the EU and the cooperatives' performance. Beeinflussen politische Maßnahmen die Position und die Performance von Agrargenossenschaften in der EU? Die Europäische Kommission will ein zur Förderung der Gründung und Entwicklung von Agrargenossenschaften und anderen Erzeugerorganisationen vorteilhaftes Politikumfeld schaffen. Dieser Beitrag präsentiert -erstmals -die Ergebnisse einer Effektivitätsbewertung bestehender Fördermaßnahmen für Agrargenossenschaften in der gesamten EU (in acht Agrarsektoren). Insbesondere wird untersucht, ob der Marktanteil der Genossenschaften positiv oder negativ von politischen Maßnahmen beeinflusst wird. Die Untersuchung ermittelt allgemeine Trends, Stärken und Schwächen unter den in der EU angewandten politischen Maßnahmen sowie die Performance der Genossenschaften.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent a consumer’s repair strategy impacts the annual costs of ownership of a washing machine and two types of vacuum cleaner. Design/methodology/approach The annual cost of ownership is determined by calculating the annual life cycle cost (LCC) for the respective devices. The annual LCCs of the different scenarios allow a comparison of the different repair strategy options. A Monte Carlo simulation is run to introduce parameter variability. The device’s failure rate is estimated by a combination of data sets on the devices’ performance. Findings Results demonstrate that the repair of the devices considered is a more favourable option over replacement. A consumer who aims for the lowest annual LCC should allow for a high number of repairs per device, without putting a maximum on the cost per repair. However, the consumer should become more cautious when a device approaches the end of its expected lifetime. Finally, the purchase of warranty can be interesting when the warranty covers a sufficiently long proportion of the device’s (expected) lifetime and when its cost does not exceed a threshold proportion of the initial purchase price. Research limitations/implications The costs for repair might be overestimated. Future research can focus on the reduction of repair costs following self-repair. Practical implications The results provide strong arguments in favour of repair instead of replacement of broken devices. Originality/value This is the first research to quantify the influence of consumer behaviour in the context of repair of devices on the ownership costs of these devices.