Can Markets Improve Recycling Performance? A Cross-Country Regression Analysis and Case Studies

Abstract

Can recycling reduce negative externalities created by landfills? Environmentalists argue yes; however, the efficiency of recycling will be institutionally contingent. Entrepreneurs will face less barriers to profit from recycling in countries with more economic freedom. Additionally, recycling conducted by private firms will be more cost-effective and have higher rates of innovation in recycling technology relative to a nationalized industry. The purpose of this study is to test these claims. First, a two-way fixed effects regression model is estimated using panel data from 34 countries over the years 2000 to 2019. Our regression results show that increases in economic freedom have a positive effect on recycling rates, independent of related policy effects. Second, using two brief case studies of the Republic of Korea and Taiwan, we show how the inefficiencies of bureaucratic management suggest that private industry can be a less costly solution to encouraging recycling. The empirical results and case studies strongly suggest that increases in economic freedom can be an important mechanism for increasing recycling rates, and private industry involvement in existing recycling programs can limit unnecessary costs.

Reverse logistics practices and operational performance of firms in the manufacturing sector: A systematic review

“…Most studies settled that organizations that use recycling systems through reverse logistics lower the amount of garbage that needs to be disposed of in other ways, enhancing operational performance. Many of the studies that were looked at came to the general conclusion that recycling also increases operational performance through increased efficiency because it uses fewer natural resources by reusing materials, which lowers energy consumption (Prenovitz et al, 2023). Businesses can use resources more effectively and lessen their impact on the environment by recycling and engaging in resource-related activities.…”

The Effect of Institutional Quality on Economic Growth: Evidence from Tripartite Approaches in the Context of War-Torn Countries

“…Rationally, if a long-run association is discovered among the variables, carrying out a co-integration to ascertain the robustness of the model is necessary (Olamide et al, 2022;Liu & Zhang, 2022;Sultana et al, 2022). Finally, due to the panel data structure of the study and because the model incorporates a small number of years, we tested the fixed-effects model to observe the effect of the variables (Prenovitz et al, 2023;Zheng et al, 2023). Furthermore, the GDP annual growth of war-torn countries is adopted to measure the economic situation.…”