This study provides new empirical evidence concerning the relationship between human capital and economic growth for 17 European countries over the periods 2015–2019 and 2019–2022. The results show that both education and health have a positive and significant impact on economic growth, and thus support higher growth. Also, our empirical results before COVID-19 show that there is bidirectional causality between economic growth and health, as well as education and economic growth, and there is unidirectional causal relationship running from education to health. After COVID-19, there is no significant causality between economic growth education and health. The results of this study may be of great importance for policy and decision makers in developing policies to foster human capital for European countries.

This study explores the dynamic relationships between tourism development, waste generation, and economic growth in 27 European countries over the period 2010–2021, offering new perspectives on sustainable tourism dynamics. Using panel data and simultaneous-equations models estimated via the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), we analyze the direction and strength of causal links among these variables. Our findings indicate bidirectional causality between tourism and economic growth, as well as between tourism development and waste generation, while waste generation has a unidirectional effect on economic growth. Moreover, tourism significantly contributes to economic growth in European countries, but its expansion may increase waste generation if sustainable practices are not implemented. These findings offer key insights for policymakers aiming to promote sustainable tourism strategies that simultaneously foster economic growth and environmental preservation.