How different policy instruments affect green product innovation : A differentiated perspective
Based on representative firm-level data for the three countries Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, we investigate the effects of energy-related regulations, taxes, voluntary agreements, and subsidies on the creation of green energy products, and analyze through which channels policy affects green product innovation and which factors mediate the observed effects. Policy may affect green product innovation by directly stimulating the supply of green products/services, or more indirectly by stimulating the demand for green products/services. Our data set allows us to distinguish between the two channels, which improves our understanding of the frequently observed positive net effect of policie…
How do policies for efficient energy use in the household sector induce energy-efficiency innovation? : An evaluation of European countries
Abstract Research on innovation induced by climate-mitigation policy has been focused predominantly on the supply side of the energy system. Despite considerable climate-mitigation potential on the demand side, less attention is given to the innovation effect of policies addressing the household sector. Based on a comprehensive data set, including 550 policy measures over 30 years (1980–2009) and covering 21 European countries, we find—based on econometric estimations—that policies targeting efficient energy use in the household sector significantly increase the number of patented energy-efficiency inventions. A comparison of the different policy types reveals a particularly strong influenc…
The adoption of green energy technologies: The role of policies in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland
We contribute to the existing research about policy-induced technology adoption in several ways. First, we suggest a new survey design to measure the energy-related policy environment. Second, we simultaneously estimate the policy effects for the adoption propensity and the adoption intensity simultaneously and, third, we compare the policy effects in the three countries, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Based on a representative sample of firms for all three countries we find that policies essentially promote the adoption of technologies and they are practically ineffective for the intensity, which poses a great challenge to future policy designs. Voluntary agreements or demand-related f…
Competitive Pressure and Diversification into Green R&D
Based on representative firm-level survey data for Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, we investigate the relationship between quick obsolescence of products, unpredictable technological development, and easy substitution of products and the probability to diversify into green R&D. We find that product obsolescence and technological uncertainty are positively related with green R&D diversification. These types of competition are usually positively related with low barriers to market entry. Hence, policies that support open markets should stimulate diversification into green R&D. peerReviewed