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• Analysis of EU-28 countries' compliance with EU Waste Hierarchy and its targets. • Innovative composite indicator to encompass priorities and deviations from targets. • Combination of Analytic Hierarchy Process and Goal Programming Synthetic Indicator. • Including prevention for a systemic perspective of waste management performance. • Identified countries with virtuous circular strategies to help lagging countries. The focus of this paper is to evaluate how well European countries are advancing towards a Circular Economy transition and to which extent they are fulfilling the European Union (EU) requirements in terms of municipal waste management. With this aim, an innovative composite indicator is devised by integrating the Goal Programming Synthetic Indicator (GPSI) methodology with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The suggested methodology allows to encompass not only the guidelines provided by the EU directives and the EU Waste Hierarchy, but also the deviations from the EU thresholds. As a first step of the analysis, a dashboard of indicators is identified together with a set of targets that European countries are supposed to meet. Indicators, targets and their relative importance in the dashboard have been discussed and validated by a team of experts. Then, two Goal Programming Synthetic Indicators are computed taking into account two different perspectives. The first one rewards the countries with good performance in the higher level of the Waste Hierarchy, while the second one penalizes countries whose infringements are in the lower part of the Waste Hierarchy. Hence two different systems of aggregating weights are identified by means of the Analytic Hierarchy Process and accordingly two scenarios are explored. The analysis is performed using Eurostat data on 28 European countries from 2013 to 2018. For each year, countries are assessed in terms of their ability to keep the right waste management track delineated by the Waste Hierarchy principles. Countries' ranking over time is first obtained and then interpreted in light of countries policies and achievements, deriving policy suggestions to improve waste management strategy able to reach the expected results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a Data Envelopment Analysis aimed at studying the efficiency of Tuscan municipalities' public expenditure. Five strategic functions of Tuscan municipalities are first considered carrying out a non-aggregate analysis; then the overall expenditure composition of each municipality and the global spending efficiency are analysed by a proposed composite indicator. The main determinants affecting the municipalities' efficiency were further investigated. In particular, the obtained results may be consistently included in the long-standing debate on the municipal size, proving that the bigger the municipality, the greater its level of public expenditure efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to present sequential methods for a pseudoconvex optimization problem whose objective function is the sum of a linear and a linear fractional function and the feasible region is a polyhedron, not necessarily compact. Since the sum of a linear and a linear fractional function is not in general pseudoconvex, we first derive conditions characterizing its pseudoconvexity on the nonnegative orthant. We prove that the sum of a linear and a linear fractional function is pseudoconvex if and only if it assumes particular canonical forms. Then, theoretical properties regarding the existence of a minimum point and its location are established, together with necessary and sufficient conditions for the infimum to be finite. The obtained results allow us to suggest simplex-like sequential methods for solving optimization problems having as objective function the proposed canonical forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As water utilities operate as natural monopolists and they provide essential services for human life, their activities are regulated by public authorities. The sustainable use of water resources and a specific attention on social needs should be essential goals for this kind of firms, so that the evaluation of their business should go beyond their profitability and their financial solvency. Keeping pace with the new Circular Economy paradigm and the evolution of the water regulatory framework, in this paper we suggest a global composite indicator apt to evaluate in a novel way the water utilities performance, encompassing financial and economic indexes together with environmental sustainability and service quality measures. To show its empirical implementation we evaluate the performance of Italian water utilities. The operating context is also under scrutiny focusing on specific water utility features such as size, geographical location, degree of diversification and ownership. In this light, operating in the Centre and being large are considered favourable background conditions, while the South and the medium size display a significant unfavourable influence on the water utility performance. Multi-utilities are more advantaged with respect to the mono-utilities and no significant distinction can be made among the different ownership models. • A composite indicator for a new holistic evaluation of Water Utilities is provided. • Environmental, social, economic and financial sustainability is under scrutiny. • Directional distance Benefit of Doubt model for negative and undesirable indicators. • Weight restrictions in the model reflect the priorities of the Water Regulator. • Size, location, diversification significantly influence water utility performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSP) group of disorders, which involve weakness and spasticity of the lower limbs. It states that the complicated form of HSPs involves presence of additional neurological or non-neurological features, and discusses the discovery of several spastic paraplegia genes (SPGs). It mentions the additional clinical features associated with HSP disorders including Peripheral neuropathy and cognitive impairment.

Vector pseudoinvexity is characterized in the current literature by means of a suitable functional which depends on two variables. In this paper, vector pseudoinvexity is characterized by means of a functional which depends on one variable only. For this very reason, the new characterizing conditions are easier to be verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to measure and benchmark the environmental performance of Portuguese utilities jointly active in the three sectors of water supply, wastewater collection and solid waste management. To do so, we suggest the use of a traditional (optimistic) directional distance Benefit of the Doubt index. We complement the analysis by considering also the pessimistic version of the proposed BoD and by implementing a robust and conditional approach. The obtained results show that there is space for improvement in the pressure balance of these utilities, especially for small and very large units, mostly operating in urban areas. • An environmental pressure indicator for water and waste utilities is proposed. • The composite indicator accounts for positive/negative pressures on the environment. • A robust and conditional directional distance Benefit of the Doubt index is used. • The environmental pressure of Portuguese water and waste utilities is evaluated. • The tool is useful from a policy perspective and results are analyzed accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates and compares the dynamic eco-efficiency of municipalities with publicly owned, privately owned, and mixed ownership solid waste utilities by estimating the Meta-frontier Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index for a sample of 68 major Italian towns. On average, the eco-productivity of Italian waste service providers increased by 8% from 2016 to 2019. Although municipalities with private utilities improved their eco-productivity most, the differences among the three clusters reflecting utility ownership are not statistically significant. The results show that publicly owned waste operators drive technology and that the technological levels of private utilities have deteriorated relative to global technological progress. • Eco-productivity of Italian waste service providers increased from 2016 to 2019. • Differences in eco-productivity according to utility ownership are not significant. • Technology is driven by publicly-owned waste operators. • The technological levels of private utilities have deteriorated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• External operational variables are associated with efficiency estimation. • Efficiency is higher in municipalities with lower levels of income per capita. • Efficiency is lower for municipalities with higher undifferentiated waste produced. • Adoption of zero waste strategy is related to higher efficiency in MSW service. • Privatization is not associated with significant improvement in performance results. This paper assesses the performance of waste services in the region of Tuscany in Italy. It adopts non-parametric techniques for this purpose. Furthermore, it investigates the influence of the operational environment on the estimated performance by using the robust order-m technique. Meaningful levels of inefficiency were found in the Italian waste services. A specification of the ownership of the operator entrusted with waste management by municipalities and the formal adoption of the zero-waste strategy are included as environmental variables. The study concludes that the influence of the operational environment is a determinant of performance. The income per capita is negatively associated with efficiency, while population density is positively associated. Furthermore, efficiency levels are lower for municipalities with higher mixed waste per capita produced. Improving good pro-environmental behaviours is likely to improve efficiency and, thus, tariffs. The empirical results support the idea that it is necessary to make relevant organizational decisions that imply higher costs to increase the refuse collection rate. An increase in the separate collection rate beyond 50% is associated with the reduction of the efficiency level reached. Efficiency analysis does not consider the additional costs and the opportunities for municipalities to get revenues by selling them as secondary raw materials. Besides, the adoption of a zero-waste strategy is related to higher efficiency in MSW service provision. Finally, results about the ownership issue support the idea that privatization is not necessarily associated with the performance improvement of the waste services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In European countries, wastewater treatment service is often provided by utilities, which have to comply with environmental laws and, at the same time, should control costs in order to restrain tariff growth and earn profits. By applying a conditional order-m efficiency method, this study provides some insights to the operational variables affecting the efficiency of 137 plants owned by a water utility operating in Tuscany, Italy. These performance drivers are categorized as: 1) wastewater features, 2) plant technology, 3) other plant features, 4) output quality, and 5) sludge disposal method. Starting from some controversial results from prior literature, this paper provides some useful insights on the best policies that could be adopted by a utility to catch cost savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]