Following the global economic crisis of 2008, the concept of green economy has become a significant field of interest for scientific research as well as for specific development policies in various countries around the world. More recently, the transition towards green economy has been considered a desirable model and alternative approach to development encompassing all elements of sustainable development—economic, ecological and social. By adopting the 2019 European Green Deal, the European Union has explicitly opted for a new pattern of development that involves all European countries transitioning their economies, i.e., achieving economic growth while significantly reducing their negative environmental impact. The aim of this paper was to assess the possible effects of Croatian economy transitioning in accordance with the European Green Deal strategic framework and resources planned for Croatia in the following EU budgeting period (2021–2027). Based on the regression analysis results and two developed investment scenarios for the green transition, the authors have shown the potential positive effects of such a process on the gross domestic product and on total employment. These results were further supported by arguments based on examples for specific sectors and economic activities. The authors conclude that transitioning towards green economy, i.e., implementing specific green economy policies can serve to push sustainable development in the EU while simultaneously contributing to the implementation of the strategic goals of the European Green Deal.

In the past decades, in all the world schools and faculties of economics, it was taught that the main objective of economic policy is to ensure continuous economic growth. However, for reasons of limited absorption capacity of the environment and increasing reduction of the original ecosystems, models of economic growth are in opposition to the basic ecological principles. This is primarily the consequence of learning and applying the conventional economic paradigm which disregards the relationship between economy and environment. Therefore, the authors of this paper, proceeding from the correlation between economy and environment from the aspect of fundamental natural laws, analysed the basic determinants of the strong sustainability paradigm which implies that natural capital resources should be maintained in the constant flow of time. The research also includes analysis of the correlation between specific economic and ecological challenges of sustainable development in global regions. The authors concluded that sustainable economy may exist only in the sustainable symbiosis with the natural system. Taking into account the complex relationship between nature, society, technology and economy, the authors concluded the paper with the proposition of concrete guidelines for a reform of economic education, in accordance with the concept of strong sustainability. Key words: economy, education, environment, strong sustainability, weak sustainability.

U ovome radu prikazani su rezultati teorijskog i empirijskog istraživanja kojim su utvrđena dugoročna razvojna obilježja brdsko-planinskih područja u Republici Hrvatskoj, kao i učinci dosadašnjeg sustava potpore njihovom razvoju. Polazeći od teorijske i strateške razrade problematike razvoja brdsko-planinskih područja, svrha ovog istraživanja bila je analizirati ukupna demografska, ekonomska i fiskalna kretanja u brdsko-planinskim područjima Republike Hrvatske u usporedbi s prosječnim kretanjima na nacionalnoj razini. S tim u vezi, cilj istraživanja bio je kritički i empirijski ispitati učinkovitost i nedostatke dosadašnjeg sustava potpore razvoju brdsko-planinskih područja u kontekstu ostvarenja zakonski postavljenih ciljeva hrvatske regionalne politike. Rezultati provedenog istraživanja ukazuju na povećanje divergencije u cjelokupnom razvoju Republike Hrvatske i razvoju njezinih brdsko-planinskih područja, ali i na neučinkovitost državnih intervencija u zaustavljanju tog procesa. Ključni razlozi za to su relativno mala izdašnost državnih pomoći, zatim nedostatak kvalitetnih kriterija za njihovo dodjeljivanje te provedba neadekvatnih mjera i instrumenta za poticanje razvoja brdsko-planskih područja.

The Croatian economy performs unfavorably in terms of the impact of production on wastewater discharges, which is particularly pronounced in the industrial sectors. Each unit of gross industrial value added produced in Croatia generates significantly more wastewater discharges than in most European countries with a similar level of economic development. Moreover, in 2020, only 26.9% of the total industrial wastewater discharges of the Croatian economy were treated, while 76.2% of the total industrial wastewater discharges were directly discharged into the environment. Since most of the industrial production in the Croatian economy is destined to meet the intermediate needs of other sectors, policy makers in Croatia must take into account that the level of industrial wastewater discharges is also influenced by the production level of sectors that depend on the intermediate products of wastewater-intensive industries. For this reason, we developed a wastewater extended input–output model of the Croatian economy to determine and analyze the impact of intersectoral linkages in Croatian production systems on the amount of untreated wastewater discharges. The results of the study show that wastewater flows in the Croatian economy are largely generated by the processes of production and consumption of intermediate products from the chemical and petroleum refining sectors, which also account for the largest share of the calculated wastewater footprint of total Croatian production. In light of the emerging empirical evidence, it can be concluded that targeting market-based and regulation-based measures at wastewater-intensive producers is not sufficient to reduce the relatively high level of untreated wastewater discharges in the Croatian economy. There is also a need for appropriate integrated policy measures in sectors that have a large wastewater footprint due to their established supply chains.

The main role of local development policy is to create a favorable business environment and new jobs, thus contributing to economic development. Creating a positive business environment to act as a pull factor for new businesses is of great importance, because entrepreneurship conduces to the rise in the supply of goods and to an increase in citizens’ income and revenues of local budgets. This paper therefore examines the main goals of economic development in the towns and municipalities of the Republic of Croatia, as well as the tools used by local governments to encourage entrepreneurship and new businesses. Using a questionnaire, mayors and deputies of towns and municipalities were surveyed, and the sample covered 131 towns and municipalities. The research methodology included a descriptive analysis and the Kruskal–Wallis test. The results indicate that improving the quality of life of the residents, creating new jobs, and retaining the residents in the town or municipality were identified as the most important goals of economic development. To encourage entrepreneurship and new jobs, towns and municipalities most often simplify regulations, reduce local taxes, and introduce various benefits and incentives. The contribution of the paper is manifested in providing useful guidance to local governments to improve the business environment.