Blanka Šimundić (p), Vinko Muštra, Zvonimir Kuliš(p)

Meriem El Kouhen

Debates in economic geography about regional resilience to shocks, intensified by the 2008 crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, continue (Bourdin et al., 2023). Sutton et al. (2023) refine the understanding of resilience as the ability to withstand, adapt, and transform amid disruptions. Key dimensions include preparation, resistance, and recovery, with resilience taking different forms such as engineering, ecological, adaptive and transformative. Transformative resilience (Lemke et al., 2023) involves reconfiguring regional innovation systems for sustainable development. In this context, the circular economy promotes resilience by improving resource efficiency, reducing waste, and spurring innovation (Kennedy & Linnenluecke, 2022), offering a global alternative to traditional growth-driven production models (Ghisellini et al., 2016).

A circular economy replaces the traditional linear model with processes that reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover materials across scales, from individual products to entire cities, to foster sustainable development (Zisopoulos et al., 2022). The European Commission's industrial strategy projects that this shift could save €600 billion, cut 450 million tons of CO₂, boost GDP by 0.5% by 2030, and create 700,000 jobs (European Commission, 2020). Research also links circular economy practices to stronger economic growth (Hysa et al., 2020). Furthermore, Di Stefano et al. (2023) argue that circular models help multinational enterprises enhance resilience by reducing raw material dependence, mitigating supply chain risks, and fostering efficiency and new revenue streams.

This paper explores the link between circular economy principles and regional economic resilience, focusing on the impact of circular economy practices in the context of the COVID-19 economic shock. Regional economic resilience is measured using traditional performance metrics such as changes in gross value added and labor market indicators (Giannakis & Bruggeman, 2020). The circular economy is assessed with the Circular Economy Static Index (CESI), which includes socio-health, economic, and environmental dimensions (Silvestri et al., 2020). Other independent variables are also included (Sutton & Sutton, 2024).

Our study focuses on NUTS 2 regions in the EU, with data sourced from ARDECO and Eurostat. We employ OLS regression and the Spatial Durbin Error Model (SDEM) to analyze the relationship between CESI and regional economic resilience. Results are expected to confirm that the circular economy enhances resilience by promoting resource efficiency and waste reduction. The study emphasizes the need for targeted policies to facilitate the transition to a circular economy, urging governments and regional authorities to incentivize circular business models, invest in innovation, and encourage cross-regional cooperation for greater impact.

Meriem El Kouhen (p)

Sébastien Bourdin

Water governance in Morocco agricultural sector faces significant challenges dur to the increasing of water scarcity aggravated by climate change, inefficiency, failure of public policies and overexploitation. Moroccan agriculture consumes over 85% of the country’s water resources, requiring urgent and innovative solutions to increase efficiency and effectiveness. With social and economic actual transformations, traditional governance patterns often fail to deal with such issues in a sustainable and resilient way, what pushed us to highlight the increasing need for an integrating advanced technologies and innovative management strategies.
This paper explores the role of innovation and artificial intelligence in transforming water governance within the agricultural sector in Morocco. Smart irrigation systems, remote sensing technologies, predictive analytics and real time monitoring are relevant examples of emerging solutions to optimize water us, to improve efficiency and effectiveness and reduce water waste. Besides, artificial intelligence can swiftly and smoothly identify sources of inefficiencies ensuring efficient water usage, enabling policymakers and farmers to manage water resources more effectively. However, challenges such as limited infrastructure, lack of advanced digital skills in human resources, high implementation costs remain significant obstacles to widespread adoption in the whole areas.
This study aims to assess the effectiveness of artificial intelligence and innovative governance mechanisms, by analyzing ongoing projects and policy frameworks in addressing Morocco’s water crisis. The finding of this research suggests combining governmental sector, private sector investments and background in innovation, farmer education and skills to have a multi-stakeholder approach making coordinated effort to overcome institutional and technological challenges.

Sébastien Bourdin (p), Arsène Perrot

Blanka Šimundić

This study explores the persistence of CO2 emissions across European regions through the lens of path dependence and socio-technical lock-ins, introducing the concept of the "regional carbon trap." By analyzing disparities in regional CO2 emissions from 1990 to 2022 across EU NUTS-2 regions, the paper identifies factors that hinder or facilitate the low-carbon transition. A novel typology classifies regions into four trajectories: virtuous loop, carbon-intensive trap, high-emission trap, and evolution trap. The findings highlight the critical roles of industrial structure, governance quality, and economic diversity in shaping regional emissions pathways. Policy recommendations include tailored exnovation, diversification, and leapfrogging strategies, emphasizing the need for place-sensitive approaches to achieve EU decarbonization goals.