The circular economy for sustainable development: implementation strategies in advanced small open economies

Sustainable development and circular economy (CE) policy perspectives are growing in importance. However, there is little empirical research about the implementation of a CE or a critical review of its indicators at the country level. Using an institutional approach, this paper explores CE implementation strategies in advanced small open economies (SOEs) in the European Union (EU). We used a principal components analysis (PCA) and a clustering analysis based on data from the EU monitoring framework for the CE, specifically 13 small open economies from 2010-2017. The main findings reveal three CE implementation strategies correlated with CE development stages: integrated to value chain, focused on institutional compliance and fragmented profiles. Surprisingly, we found no evidence for the expansion of CE-related sectors based upon persons employed, value added or gross investments. This topic deserves further investigation, with important implications for future research and policymaking.