Convergence of relative pollution levels among the countries of the Baltic Sea region

In the present study, the concept of absolute and marginal convergence was applied to evaluate relative emissions trends for basic types of pollution within the countries of the Baltic Sea region. The proposed measure of relative pollution is an indicator for the ecological effectiveness of the analyzed economies. We tested the following hypotheses: (1) the relative levels of pollution among the countries of the Baltic Sea region are characterized by the same long-term equilibrium; (2) the dispersion of pollution diminishes over time. Convergence applies for the relative emissions of acidifying substances, greenhouse gases, and particulate matter. The contributions of the countries' relative levels of pollution to the process of overall convergence were also estimated by means of a new concept of marginal vertical convergence. The results indicate that the estimated contributions vary from country to country.