POSSIBILITIES OF SUSTAINABLE ECONOMICAL DEVELOPMENT IN FRAMEWORK OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY

By applying a circular economy business models, habits and ways of thinking change and the new design and production of a product extends its lifespan. The aim of the paper is to analyze the success of using the circular economy model through the indicators of the circular economy in the EU countries and to provide an overview of existing measures and opportunities available to economies by which this concept can be more easily introduced into the economy. The hypotheses tested in the paper are as follows: H1-There is a relationship between recycling activities and economic growth; H2-Investment, employment and added value in the circular economy are linked to economic growth. The hypotheses were tested using an econometric model using Eurostat data for all EU countries (EU 28) in the period 2008-2016. The paper used correlation and regression analysis. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used in the correlation analysis, and the univariate OLS was used in the regression analysis, where the independent variable was recycling percentage and the dependent variable was logarithmic GDP. The results show that countries that have higher GDP, or in other words more economically developed ones, also have better indicators of circular economy use.