Regional and sector environmental efficiency: empirical evidence using the Italian RAMEA

This paper develops empirical analyses using the NAMEA (National Accounting Matrix including Environmental Accounts) with reference to the Lazio region, Italy, where Rome is located. The data in our analysis are for 2000, the only year that both regional and national level data are available (national level data are available for the period 1990–2003). By comparing regional and national environmental sector intensities, we aim to demonstrate the utility of NAMEA and shift share analyses for environmental and industrial policy making. In referring to a regional framework, the analysis is very significant since it allows the investigation to focus on structural and idiosyncratic features compared with national averages, providing food for thought for regional development policy making, which is the key stone of economic development. It enables economic policies to be differentiated by regions, on the basis of the observed heterogeneity in economic-environmental relationships.