Agric. Econ. - Czech, X:X | DOI: 10.17221/6/2025-AGRICECON

Long-term trends in economic and environmental efficiency of EU agriculture: A DEA-Malmquist approachOriginal Paper

Dirk Beyer1, Jana Hinke ORCID...2
1 Department of Business Studies, Harz University of Applied Sciences, Wernigerode, Germany
2 Department of Trade and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

Enhancing economic and environmental efficiency is a fundamental objective shared by all European economic sectors, with agriculture being a particular area of focus. In this study, economic and environmental efficiency are considered in parallel and compared in terms of their long-term development. From an economic perspective, the classical production factors of labour, capital and land are compared with economic production output. The environmental perspective of the study focuses on greenhouse gases and acidifying gases, with the investigation based on data from Eurostat from 2009 to 2020. Due to constraints regarding the  availability of data , the study encompassed 22 EU countries.  The findings indicate that Greece, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland demonstrate high levels of economic efficiency, while Ireland and Finland exhibit notable enhancements in this regard. Low economic efficiency scores are evident in Latvia and Austria, where substantial catching-up processes are observable. With respect to ecological efficiency, Greece, Spain and Italy have been found to be dominant, as have Finland, Sweden and Slovakia. Ireland, Luxembourg and Poland have lower ecological efficiency scores, but only Ireland shows signs of convergence. The present study seeks to minimise the impact of volatility and dispersion with a view to providing valid long-term trends for the purpose of benchmarking efforts and r policy decisions.

Keywords: air emissions; capital; labour; land; Malmquist index; sustainability

Received: January 5, 2025; Revised: October 12, 2025; Accepted: October 14, 2025; Prepublished online: January 13, 2026 

Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    Supplementary files:

    Download file6-2025_AE_ESM_OF.pdf

    File size: 234.87 kB

    References

    1. Anania G., d'Andrea M.R.P. (2015): The 2013 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. In: Swinnen J.F. (ed): The Political Economy of the 2014-2020 Common Agricultural Policy: An Imperfect Storm. London, Rowman & Littlefield: 33-86. Go to original source...
    2. Baráth L., Fertő I. (2017): Productivity and convergence in European agriculture. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 68: 228-248. Go to original source...
    3. Bartová Ľ., Fandel P., Matejková E. (2018): Eco-efficiency in agriculture of European Union member states. Annals PAAAE, 20: 15-21. Go to original source...
    4. Beyer D., Hinke J. (2020): European benchmarking of determinants of profitability for companies with accrual accounting in the agricultural sector. Agricultural Economics - Czech, 66: 477-488. Go to original source...
    5. Caves D.W., Christensen L.R., Diewert W.E. (1982): The economic theory of index numbers and the measurement of input, output, and productivity. Econometrica, 50: 1393-1414. Go to original source...
    6. Čechura L., Grau A., Hockmann H., Kroupová Z., Levkovych I. (2014): Total factor productivity in European agricultural production. COMPETE Working Paper No. 9.
    7. Chambers R.G. (1988): Applied Production Analysis: A Dual Approach. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press: 6-48.
    8. Charnes A., Cooper W.W., Rhodes E. (1978): Measuring the efficiency of decision-making units. European Journal of Operational Research, 2: 429-444. Go to original source...
    9. Cherlet M., Ivits E., Sommer S., Tóth G., Jones A., Montanarella L., Belward A. (2013): Land Productivity Dynamics in Europe: Towards a Valuation of Land Degradation in the EU. EUR 26500. Brussels, European Commission.
    10. Coelli T.J., Rao D.P. (2005): Total factor productivity growth in agriculture: A Malmquist index analysis of 93 countries, 1980-2000. Agricultural Economics, 32: 115-134. Go to original source...
    11. Coelli T.J., Rao D.P., O'Donnell C.J., Battese G.E. (2005): An Introduction to Efficiency and Productivity Analysis. 2nd Ed. New York, Springer: 136-160.
    12. Cuerva M.C. (2012): Determinants of labour productivity convergence in the European agricultural sector. Agrociencia, 46: 621-635.
    13. Czyżewski B., Matuszczak A., Grzelak A., Guth M., Majchrzak A. (2021): Environmental sustainable value in agriculture revisited: How does Common Agricultural Policy contribute to eco-efficiency? Sustainability Science, 16: 137-152. Go to original source...
    14. Ehrenfeld J. R. (2005): Eco-efficiency - Philosophy, theory, and tools. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 9: 6-8. Go to original source...
    15. Eurostat (2008): NACE Rev. 2. Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3859598/5902521/KS-RA-07-015-EN.PDF (accessed Aug 24, 2024).
    16. Eurostat (2024a): Gross Value Added and Income by A*10 Industry Breakdowns. [Dataset]. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/page/nama_10_a10__custom_12570069 (accessed Aug 13, 2024).
    17. Eurostat (2024b): Employment by A*10 Industry Breakdowns. [Dataset]. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/page/nama_10_a10_e__custom_12570412 (accessed Aug 13, 2024).
    18. Eurostat (2024c): Cross-classification of Fixed Assets by Industry. [Dataset]. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/page/nama_10_nfa_st__custom_12570791 (accessed Aug 13, 2024).
    19. Eurostat (2024d): Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) Managed by Low-, Medium- and High-Input Farms. [Dataset]. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/page/aei_ps_inp__custom_12570755 (accessed Aug 13, 2024).
    20. Eurostat (2024e): Air Emissions Accounts by NACE Rev. 2 Activity. [Dataset]. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/page/env_ac_ainah_r2__custom_12570936 (accessed Aug 13, 2024).
    21. Färe R., Grosskopf S., Lindgren B., Roos P. (1992): Productivity changes in Swedish pharmacies 1980-1989: A non-parametric Malmquist approach. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 3: 85-101. Go to original source...
    22. Färe R., Grosskopf S., Norris M., Zhang Z. (1994): Productivity growth, technical progress, and efficiency change in industrialized countries. The American Economic Review, 84: 66-83.
    23. Farrell M.J. (1957): The measurement of productive efficiency. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 120: 253-281. Go to original source...
    24. Giannakis E., Bruggeman A. (2018): Exploring the labour productivity of agricultural systems across European regions: A multilevel approach. Land Use Policy, 77: 94-106. Go to original source...
    25. Gołaś Z. (2019): Convergence of labour productivity in agriculture of the European Union. Problems of Agricultural Economics, 358: 22-43. Go to original source...
    26. Gołasa P., Wysokiński M., Bieńkowska-Gołasa W., Gradziuk P., Golonko M., Gradziuk B., Siedlecka A., Gromada A. (2021): Sources of greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture, with particular emphasis on emissions from energy used. Energies, 14: 3784. Go to original source...
    27. Gutierrez L. (2002): Why is agricultural labour productivity higher in some countries than others? Agricultural Economics Review, 3: 58-72.
    28. Halkos G., Petrou K.N. (2019): Treating undesirable outputs in DEA: A critical review. Economic Analysis and Policy, 62: 97-104. Go to original source...
    29. Hoang V.-N., Coelli T. (2011): Measurement of agricultural total factor productivity growth incorporating environmental factors: A nutrients balance approach. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 62: 462-474. Go to original source...
    30. Kijek A., Kijek T., Nowak A., Skrzypek A. (2019): Productivity and its convergence in agriculture in new and old European Union member states. Agricultural Economics - Czech, 65: 1-9. Go to original source...
    31. Kryszak Ł., Guth M., Czyżewski B. (2021): Determinants of farm profitability in the EU regions. Does farm size matter? Agricultural Economics - Czech, 67: 90-100. Go to original source...
    32. Kryszak Ł., Świerczyńska K., Staniszewski J. (2023): Measuring total factor productivity in agriculture: A bibliometric review. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 18: 148-172. Go to original source...
    33. Läpple D., Thorne F. (2019): The role of innovation in farm economic sustainability: Generalised propensity score evidence from Irish dairy farms. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 70: 178-197. Go to original source...
    34. Malmquist S. (1953): Index numbers and indifference surfaces. Trabajos de Estadística y de Investigación Operativa, 4: 209-242. Go to original source...
    35. Martinho V.J.P.D. (2022): Profitability and financial performance of European Union farms: An analysis at both regional and national levels. Open Agriculture, 7: 529-540. Go to original source...
    36. Martín-Retortillo M., Pinilla V. (2015): On the causes of economic growth in Europe: Why did agricultural labour productivity not converge between 1950 and 2005? Cliometrica, 9: 359-396. Go to original source...
    37. Marzec J., Pisulewski A. (2019): The measurement of time varying technical efficiency and productivity change in Polish crop farms. German Journal of Agricultural Economics, 68: 15-27. Go to original source...
    38. OECD (2015): Innovation, Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability in the Netherlands. Paris, OECD. Available at https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/innovation-agricultural-productivity-and-sustainability-in-the-netherlands_9789264238473-en.html (accessed May 22, 2025).
    39. Petrick M., Kloss M. (2012): Drivers of Agricultural Capital Productivity in Selected EU Member States. Brussels, Centre for European Policy Studies. Available at https://www.ceps.eu/ceps-publications/drivers-agricultural-capital-productivity-selected-eu-member-states/ (accessed Aug 24, 2024).
    40. Pishgar-Komleh S.H., Čechura L., Kuzmenko E. (2021): Investigating the dynamic eco-efficiency in agriculture sector of the European Union countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28: 48942-48954. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    41. Rybaczewska-Błażejowska M., Gierulski W. (2018): Eco-efficiency evaluation of agricultural production in the EU-28. Sustainability, 10: 4544. Go to original source...
    42. Sharma K.C., Rao D.P., Shepherd W.F. (1990): Productivity of agricultural labour and land: An international comparison. Agricultural Economics, 4: 1-12. Go to original source...
    43. Smędzik-Ambroży K., Majchrzak A. (2017): EU agricultural policy and productivity of soil in countries varying in terms of intensity of agricultural production. Management, 21: 250-258. Go to original source...
    44. Sotte F., Arcuri S. (2025): The CAP 2014-2020. In: Sotte F., Brunori G. (eds): European Agricultural Policy. Cham, Springer: 169-194. Go to original source...
    45. Suzigan L.H., Peña C.R., Guarnieri P. (2020): Eco-efficiency assessment in agriculture: A literature review focused on methods and indicators. Journal of Agricultural Science, 12: 118-134. Go to original source...
    46. Takács I. (2014). Change of labour productivity on farms in European Union member countries (2004-2011). Annals PAAAE, 16: 287-293.
    47. Zamanian K., Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi R., Tao J., Fan L., Raza S., Guggenberger G., Kuzyakov Y. (2024): Acidification of European croplands by nitrogen fertilisation: Consequences for carbonate losses, and soil health. Science of the Total Environment, 924: 171631. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return