IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_12002.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The More the Merrier? The Role of Green Research and Development Subsidies under Different Environmental Policies

Author

Listed:
  • Leonie P. Meissner

Abstract

This paper studies the role of green research and development (R&D) subsidies under different environmental policies. Using a stylized equilibrium model calibrated to the European electricity sector, I analyze the effects of R&D subsidies under (1) an emission tax, (2) an emission cap, and (3) no environmental policy, focusing on competitiveness, environmental outcomes, and welfare. I find that increasing R&D subsidies increases knowledge accumulation, reducing production costs and thus, increasing competitiveness of the clean sector. A production shift from dirty to clean output occurs but overall, output increases and lowers output prices. Environmental benefits from R&D subsidies occur only under an emission tax or in the absence of environmental policy. Under an emission cap, emissions remain constant and instead, the emission price falls due to an increase in the R&D subsidy, reducing compliance costs for the emitter. Our calibration further reveals that while patenting is unaffected by the environmental policy, there are interaction effects between the environmental policy stringency and the effectiveness of the R&D subsidy, emphasizing the importance of a policy mix for environmental innovations.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonie P. Meissner, 2025. "The More the Merrier? The Role of Green Research and Development Subsidies under Different Environmental Policies," CESifo Working Paper Series 12002, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ifo.de/DocDL/cesifo1_wp12002.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nick Johnstone & Ivan Haščič & David Popp, 2017. "Erratum to: Renewable Energy Policies and Technological Innovation: Evidence Based on Patent Counts," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 68(2), pages 441-444, October.
    2. Polzin, Friedemann & Migendt, Michael & Täube, Florian A. & von Flotow, Paschen, 2015. "Public policy influence on renewable energy investments—A panel data study across OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 98-111.
    3. Wang, Ning & Hagedoorn, John, 2014. "The lag structure of the relationship between patenting and internal R&D revisited," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1275-1285.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Degirmenci, Tunahan & Yavuz, Hakan, 2024. "Environmental taxes, R&D expenditures and renewable energy consumption in EU countries: Are fiscal instruments effective in the expansion of clean energy?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    2. Tolliver, Clarence & Keeley, Alexander Ryota & Managi, Shunsuke, 2020. "Policy targets behind green bonds for renewable energy: Do climate commitments matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    3. Filiou, Despoina & Kesidou, Effie & Wu, Lichao, 2023. "Are smart cities green? The role of environmental and digital policies for Eco-innovation in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    4. Zhu, Qingyuan & Sun, Chenhao & Xu, Chengzhen & Geng, Qianqian, 2025. "The impact of artificial intelligence on global energy vulnerability," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 15-27.
    5. Best, Rohan & Burke, Paul J., 2018. "Adoption of solar and wind energy: The roles of carbon pricing and aggregate policy support," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 404-417.
    6. Chen, Xiaoyu & Zheng, Lin & Cai, Guotian & Qi, Xiaoling & He, Jiaxin, 2025. "Global perspectives on wind energy innovation: Policy impacts and component-level analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    7. Romano, Antonio A. & Scandurra, Giuseppe & Carfora, Alfonso & Fodor, Mate, 2017. "Renewable investments: The impact of green policies in developing and developed countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P1), pages 738-747.
    8. Liu, Ying & Feng, Chao, 2023. "Promoting renewable energy through national energy legislation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    9. Graf, Holger & Kalthaus, Martin, 2018. "International research networks: Determinants of country embeddedness," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(7), pages 1198-1214.
    10. Feng, Gen-Fu & Zheng, Mingbo, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and renewable energy innovation: International evidence," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 1(2).
    11. Husain, Shaiara & Sohag, Kazi & Wu, Yanrui, 2024. "Proven reserve oil and renewable energy nexus: Efficacy of policy stringency," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    12. Tankwa, Brendon & Barbrook-Johnson, Pete, 2025. "Who rides the renewable cost curve? Country evidence on prices, learning, and policy," INET Oxford Working Papers 2025-17, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    13. Mac Domhnaill, Ciarán & Ryan, Lisa, 2020. "Towards renewable electricity in Europe: Revisiting the determinants of renewable electricity in the European Union," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 955-965.
    14. Polzin, Friedemann & Egli, Florian & Steffen, Bjarne & Schmidt, Tobias S., 2019. "How do policies mobilize private finance for renewable energy?—A systematic review with an investor perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 1249-1268.
    15. Geraldine Ang & Dirk Röttgers & Pralhad Burli, 2017. "The empirics of enabling investment and innovation in renewable energy," OECD Environment Working Papers 123, OECD Publishing.
    16. Sanya Carley & Elizabeth Baldwin & Lauren M. MacLean & Jennifer N. Brass, 2017. "Global Expansion of Renewable Energy Generation: An Analysis of Policy Instruments," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 68(2), pages 397-440, October.
    17. Schleich, Joachim & Walz, Rainer & Ragwitz, Mario, 2017. "Effects of policies on patenting in wind-power technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 684-695.
    18. Kassouri, Yacouba & Altuntaş, Mehmet & Alola, Andrew Adewale, 2022. "The contributory capacity of natural capital to energy transition in the European Union," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 617-629.
    19. Papież, Monika & Śmiech, Sławomir & Frodyma, Katarzyna, 2019. "Factors affecting the efficiency of wind power in the European Union countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 965-977.
    20. Hille, Erik & Oelker, Thomas J., 2023. "International expansion of renewable energy capacities: The role of innovation and choice of policy instruments," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D50 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - General
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12002. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.