Hungary is a member of the European Union (E.U.), so more than three-quarters of its trade relations are with the E.U. Hungary’s strategic objective is to be among the top-ten E.U. member states in ...digitalization by 2030. This study aims to examine the country’s digitization development and planned digitization programs and, based on these, to predict Hungary’s expected digitization status. This study also attempts to answer whether Hungary is among the ten most digitally developed E.U. member states. We use the K-means clustering method to assess the current state of digitization and different generic methods to determine future development. The results show that Hungary’s digital development is close to the middle level of the E.U. However, future digital development in Hungary will be more dynamic than in the European Union. This more dynamic Hungarian growth is predicted to catch up with the average of the E.U.’s digital development. However, the results of the extrapolation calculations show that the Hungarian goal of Hungary being among the ten most developed digital countries in the E.U. by 2030 is unrealistic.
The economic downturn caused by the financial crisis of 2008–2009 and the intensifying global climate policy trends forced changes in the energy management of the European Union. The study examined ...how the most relevant energy economic variables affected the economic growth of the E.U. between 2010–2019. The study used the PSL-PM methodology to explore the relationship between G.D.P. (dependent variable) and energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, the average energy price, and renewable energy use (independent variables). The main findings are: G.D.P. growth is negatively correlated with CO2 emissions, showing that the E.U. economy is still highly dependent on fossil fuels; the increase in the proportion of renewable energy consumption contributed to the growth of the E.U.’s G.D.P.; CO2 emissions, energy consumption, and the average energy price are more critical in E.U. member states with a lower G.D.P.; renewable energy use and energy balance are essential in countries where more emphasis is placed on replacing traditional energy sources and reducing energy dependence; there is a strong positive correlation between G.D.P. and renewable energy use, indicating that this type of energy use effectively supports E.U. economic growth. The results of the multicollinearity test show that there is also a strong linear dependence between the independent energy economic variables. One of the significances of the study is that the presented and analyzed variables and the relationships between them can contribute to optimizing the E.U.’s currently critical energy management and economic growth.
A prominent research area in energy economics is the study of the correlation between economic growth and CO2 emissions. Using the combined application of correlation calculation and cluster analysis ...based on empirical data, the study typifies and arranges the EU member states into homogeneous groups based on the pattern of the two variables moving together based on data from the period 2010-2019. This methodology allows a test of the "decoupling" theory that can be used to describe the interaction between environmental pressures and economic development. The results can be used to infer the status of clustered Member States in the decoupling process. The results are ambivalent across member countries. For several EU Member States, different degrees of decoupling can be observed, i.e. GDP growth has been accompanied by a reduction of the ecological footprint in those countries. However, there are also member countries where the decoupling did not work, because the reduction of CO2 emissions was accompanied by a decrease in GDP.
Energy consumption efficiency will be of paramount importance in 2023 due to the first global energy crisis experienced worldwide. The central question of this paper is how energy consumption and ...economic growth have been related to each other and how they have interacted in time and space in the European Union. Correlation calculations are used to show the relationship between the two indicators per Member State, and hierarchical cluster analysis is applied to the results. The analysis is based on data regarding the European Union Member States for the period of 2010–2019. The results show that there was no robust, strong correlation between the GDP and the energy consumption of the member countries. Another result shows that in the Member States where energy consumption fell significantly, the reduction did not have a negative impact on the economic growth. Finally, the study highlights the methodological shortcomings of studies on the correlation between energy consumption and economic growth.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a significant source of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and plays a crucial role in climate change and global warming. This study aims to explain the effects of primary and ...renewable energy supplies and environmental taxation and to analyse how taxation can alter their direct effects on carbon intensity. The research was conducted using a generalized method of moments model that uses instrumental variables with two-stage (2SGMM) estimators to calculate the direct and moderating effects of environmental taxes on carbon intensity. This study confirms the EKC theorem, and results have shown that primary energy supply and environmental-related taxation positively contribute to carbon intensity. The second finding indicates that a major increase in the proportion of renewable energy will greatly slow the rate of carbon dioxide emissions. The study provides additional evidence concerning the moderating role of taxation in amplifying the impacts of primary and renewable energy supply. The empirical findings suggest that the taxation impact is more fiscal than an incentive. In addition to the current energy and economic crisis, considerable funding and fiscal policies are needed to achieve more sustainable development paths towards carbon neutrality and energy security.
Patient-specific Instrumentation (PSI) is an innovative technique aiding the precise implementation of the preoperative plan during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) by using patient-specific guides and ...cutting blocks. Despite of the theoretical advantages, studies have reported contradictory results, thus there is no consensus regarding the overall effectiveness of PSI. Through the critical assessment of a meta-analysis published lately, this correspondence aims to highlight the complexity of comparing the efficacy of PSI to standard instrumentation (SI). The accuracy of component alignment, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), surgery time, blood loss, transfusion rate, and postoperative complications are commonly used outcomes for investigating the efficacy of PSI-aided TKA. By assessing component alignment, the expertise of the surgeon(s) should be taken into consideration, since PSI may not provide benefits for expert surgeons but might improve accuracy and patient safety during the learning curve of novice surgeons. With respect to PROMs and postoperative complications, PSI may not improve short-term results; however, long-term follow up data is missing. Regarding transfusion rates, favorable trends can be observed, but further studies utilizing recent data are needed for a clear conclusion. When assessing surgery time, we suggest focusing on operating room turnover instead of procedure time.
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