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Social rate of return to R&D on various energy technologies: Where should we invest more? A study of G7 countries

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  • Inglesi-Lotz, Roula

Abstract

The importance of investment in Research and Development (R&D) in the energy sector is indisputable especially considering the benefits of new technologies to sustainability, security and environmental protection. However, the nature and potential of various energy technologies that are capable of improving the energy and environmental conditions globally is a challenging task for governments and policy makers that have to make decisions on the allocation of funds in R&D. To do so, the optimal resource allocation to R&D should be determined by estimating the social rate of return for R&D investments. This paper aims to estimate the social rate of return of R&D on various energy applications and technologies such as energy efficiency, fossil fuels, renewable energy sources, and nuclear for the G7 countries. The results show that primarily R&D investment on Energy Efficiency technologies and Nuclear are the ones that yield high social benefits for all G7 countries while exactly the opposite holds for Fossil fuels.

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  • Inglesi-Lotz, Roula, 2017. "Social rate of return to R&D on various energy technologies: Where should we invest more? A study of G7 countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 521-525.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:101:y:2017:i:c:p:521-525
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2016.10.043
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    3. Xu, Bin & Lin, Boqiang, 2018. "Do we really understand the development of China's new energy industry?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 733-745.
    4. Kahouli, Bassem, 2018. "The causality link between energy electricity consumption, CO2 emissions, R&D stocks and economic growth in Mediterranean countries (MCs)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 388-399.
    5. Jerzy Niemczyk & Kamil Borowski & Rafał Trzaska & Mateusz Trzaska & Aleksandra Sus & Maciej Matuszewski, 2022. "Identification of the Strategy of the Energy and Utilities Sector from the G7 Group Countries, from the Perspective of a Dominant Strategy Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-20, November.
    6. Inglesi-Lotz, R., 2019. "Energy research and R&D indicators: An LMDI decomposition analysis for the IEA Big 5 in energy research," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
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    8. Iman Miremadi & Yadollah Saboohi, 2018. "Planning for Investment in Energy Innovation: Developing an Analytical Tool to Explore the Impact of Knowledge Flow," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 8(2), pages 7-19.
    9. Ndlovu, Vanessa & Inglesi-Lotz, Roula, 2020. "The causal relationship between energy and economic growth through research and development (R&D): The case of BRICS and lessons for South Africa," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    10. Hailemariam, Abebe & Ivanovski, Kris & Dzhumashev, Ratbek, 2022. "Does R&D investment in renewable energy technologies reduce greenhouse gas emissions?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).
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    Keywords

    R&D; Energy; Energy fuels; Return; G7;
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