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Does energy policy hurt international competitiveness of firms? A comparative study for Germany, Switzerland and Austria

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  • Rammer, Christian
  • Gottschalk, Sandra
  • Peneder, Michael
  • Wörter, Martin
  • Stucki, Tobias
  • Arvanitis, Spyros

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of energy policies on the export performance of firms. There has been a long policy debate on potentially negative impacts of cost-increasing energy policies on international competitiveness. We use firm-level data from three countries with similar industry structure but different energy policies: Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. We rely on firm manager assessments on the relevance of energy policy (in terms of taxes, regulations, standards, subsidies and demand stimulation) for their firm operation and link data on the adoption and development of new energy technologies. Regression analyses and matching approaches both show very few impacts of energy policy on export performance, suggesting that either policy impacts on firms' cost are negligible in the period of study (2012 to 2014) or likely negative impacts are balanced by the adoption of new technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Rammer, Christian & Gottschalk, Sandra & Peneder, Michael & Wörter, Martin & Stucki, Tobias & Arvanitis, Spyros, 2016. "Does energy policy hurt international competitiveness of firms? A comparative study for Germany, Switzerland and Austria," ZEW Discussion Papers 16-075, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:16075
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    energy policy; technology adoption; competitiveness; export; matching approach;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F18 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Environment

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