Mapping public investment in circular economy: A taxonomy-based analysis of Korea's public budgets

This study presents one of the first national-scale, quantitative assessments of public spending on circular economy, analyzing 5592 government-funded projects in Korea using a harmonized taxonomy. Despite growing recognition of circular economy, absence of standardized classification systems to define circular economy activities hinders both policy evaluation and effective resource allocation. To address this gap, the study developed a comprehensive taxonomy by integrating eight leading frameworks, including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's ReSOLVE, EU taxonomy, ISO 59004, and IFC guideline, and refined it through iterative application to Korea's 2023 budget data. This classification system was designed for large-scale investment datasets where project descriptions are often limited. The taxonomy categorized circular economy activities into eight types across four lifecycle stages. Appl…