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Changes in Materials Use in Transition Economies

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  • Jan Kovanda
  • Tomas Hak

Abstract

type="main" xml:lang="en"> This article examines the development of material consumption in three transition economies during the years 1990–2002. We compare the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland and benchmark their material consumption against average values for the 15 member states of the European Union (formation as of 1995) representing a typical market economy. The article compares consumption of materials in these countries and relates them to relevant socioeconomic variables, using the IPAT equation as a starting point. The article tries to answer whether there has been a convergence in per capita material consumption in these transition economies, in order to identify commonalities associated with the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy in terms of the development of material consumption. We investigate the relation between material consumption, population development, economic growth, and technological change during the transition. We show that the three transition economies, in general, experienced a convergence in per capita material consumption, including a common decrease in the consumption of biomass. Two out of three countries further recorded a decrease in the consumption of fossil fuels and an increase in the consumption of minerals. We found a general trend of increasing dependence on foreign resources during the transition. On the basis of the IPAT analysis, we found that the development of material consumption was mostly driven by the growth in consumption and by technological change. Although gross domestic product (GDP) growth contributed to a growth in material consumption, the influence of technology supported a reverse effect. In some of the countries, however, the factors decreasing material consumption (i.e., shifts to services and technological change) were not able to outweigh those factors causing material consumption to grow (i.e., increase in GDP).

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Kovanda & Tomas Hak, 2008. "Changes in Materials Use in Transition Economies," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 12(5-6), pages 721-738, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:12:y:2008:i:5-6:p:721-738
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2008.00088.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Weisz, Helga & Krausmann, Fridolin & Amann, Christof & Eisenmenger, Nina & Erb, Karl-Heinz & Hubacek, Klaus & Fischer-Kowalski, Marina, 2006. "The physical economy of the European Union: Cross-country comparison and determinants of material consumption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 676-698, July.
    2. Ester van der Voet & Lauran van Oers & Igor Nikolic, 2004. "Dematerialization: Not Just a Matter of Weight," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 8(4), pages 121-137, October.
    3. Scasny, Milan & Kovanda, Jan & Hak, Tomas, 2003. "Material flow accounts, balances and derived indicators for the Czech Republic during the 1990s: results and recommendations for methodological improvements," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 41-57, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. James West & Heinz Schandl, 2018. "Explanatory Variables for National Socio‐Metabolic Profiles and the Question of Forecasting National Material Flows in a Globalized Economy," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(6), pages 1451-1464, December.
    2. Kohlheb, Norbert & Krausmann, Fridolin, 2009. "Land use change, biomass production and HANPP: The case of Hungary 1961-2005," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 292-300, December.
    3. Grešlová, Petra & Štych, Přemysl & Salata, Tomasz & Hernik, Józef & Knížková, Ivana & Bičík, Ivan & Jeleček, Leoš & Prus, Barbara & Noszczyk, Tomasz, 2019. "Agroecosystem energy metabolism in Czechia and Poland in the two decades after the fall of communism: From a centrally planned system to market oriented mode of production," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 807-820.
    4. Mathieu, Valentin & Roda, Jean-Marc, 2023. "A meta-analysis on wood trade flow modeling concepts," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    5. Jan Kovanda, 2021. "Economy‐wide material system analysis: Mapping material flows through the economy," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(5), pages 1121-1135, October.
    6. Helga Weisz & Heinz Schandl, 2008. "Materials Use Across World Regions," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 12(5-6), pages 629-636, October.
    7. West, James & Schandl, Heinz & Krausmann, Fridolin & Kovanda, Jan & Hak, Tomas, 2014. "Patterns of change in material use and material efficiency in the successor states of the former Soviet Union," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 211-219.
    8. Kovanda, Jan, 2014. "Incorporation of recycling flows into economy-wide material flow accounting and analysis: A case study for the Czech Republic," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 78-84.
    9. Liu, Ningyin & Zhang, Yan & Fath, Brian D., 2021. "The material metabolism characteristics and growth patterns of the central cities of China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 448(C).
    10. Steinberger, Julia K. & Krausmann, Fridolin & Eisenmenger, Nina, 2010. "Global patterns of materials use: A socioeconomic and geophysical analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1148-1158, March.
    11. Raupova, Ozoda & Kamahara, Hirotsugu & Goto, Naohiro, 2014. "Assessment of physical economy through economy-wide material flow analysis in developing Uzbekistan," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 76-85.

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