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Environmental Preferences and Technological Choices : Is Market Competition Clean or Dirty?

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  • Bénabou, Roland
  • Aghion, Philippe
  • Martin, Ralf
  • Roulet, Alexandra

Abstract

This paper investigates the joint effect of consumers' environmental concerns and product-market competition on firms' decisions whether to innovate "clean" or "dirty". We first develop a step-by-step innovation model to capture the basic intuition that socially responsible consumers induce firms to escape competition by pursuing greener innovations. To test and quantify the theory, we bring together patent data, survey data on environmental values, and competition measures. Using a panel of 8,562 firms from the automobile sector that patented in 42 countries between 1998 and 2012, we indeed find that greater exposure to environmental attitudes has a significant positive effect on the probability for a firm to innovate in the clean direction, and all the more so the higher the degree of product market competition. Results suggest that the combination of historically realistic increases in prosocial attitudes and product market competition can have the same effect on green innovation as major increase in fuel prices.

Suggested Citation

  • Bénabou, Roland & Aghion, Philippe & Martin, Ralf & Roulet, Alexandra, 2020. "Environmental Preferences and Technological Choices : Is Market Competition Clean or Dirty?," CEPR Discussion Papers 14581, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14581
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    1. Philippe Aghion & Antoine Dechezleprêtre & David Hémous & Ralf Martin & John Van Reenen, 2016. "Carbon Taxes, Path Dependency, and Directed Technical Change: Evidence from the Auto Industry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(1), pages 1-51.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Dobkowitz, Sonja, 2022. "Redistribution, Demand, and Sustainable Production," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242417, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association, revised 2022.
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    5. Fabian Herweg & Klaus M Schmidt, 2022. "How to Regulate Carbon Emissions with Climate-Conscious Consumers," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(648), pages 2992-3019.
    6. Achim Wambach & Christine Zulehner, 2022. "Nachhaltigkeitsziele in der Wirtschaftspolitik — volkswirtschaftliche Überlegungen [Sustainability Goals in Economic Policy — Economic Considerations]," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 102(5), pages 331-333, May.
    7. Eleonora Broccardo & Oliver D. Hart & Luigi Zingales, 2020. "Exit vs. Voice," Working Papers 2020-114, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    8. Maarten Pieter Schinkel & Leonard Treuren, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility by Joint Agreement," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 21-063/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    9. Nicholas Stern & Anna Valero, 2021. "Innovation, growth and the transition to net-zero emissions," CEP Discussion Papers dp1773, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    10. Lee, Byoungchan, 2023. "Wealth Inequality and Endogenous Growth," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 132-148.
    11. Ambec, Stefan & De Donder, Philippe, 2022. "Environmental policy with green consumerism," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    12. Kaitila, Ville, 2023. "Labour Productivity and Development of Carbon Competitiveness: Industry-Level Evidence from Europe," ETLA Reports 139, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    13. Andreas Lange & Claudia Schwirplies, 2021. "Bargaining With Charitable Promises: True Preferences and Strategic Behavior," CESifo Working Paper Series 9129, CESifo.
    14. Chen, Yufeng & Ma, Yanbai, 2021. "Does green investment improve energy firm performance?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    15. Marc Fleurbaey & Grégory Ponthière, 2021. "The stakeholder corporation and social welfare," Working Papers hal-03426120, HAL.
    16. Delanote, Julie & Rückert, Désirée, 2022. "How to foster climate innovation in the European Union: Insights from the EIB Online Survey on Climate Innovation," EIB Working Papers 2022/02, European Investment Bank (EIB).
    17. Samuel Bowles & Wendy Carlin, 2021. "Shrinking capitalism: components of a new political economy paradigm [‘Environmental Preferences and Technological Choices: Is Market Competition Clean or Dirty?’]," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 37(4), pages 794-810.
    18. Uluc Aysun & Sami Alpanda, 2023. "The cyclicality of income distribution and innovation induced growth," Working Papers 2023-01, University of Central Florida, Department of Economics.
    19. Jiang, Weijie & Li, Yidong, 2023. "Effect of fiscal decentralization on pollution reduction: Firm-level evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    20. Hennig, Jan C. & Oehmichen, Jana & Steinberg, Philip J. & Heigermoser, Judith, 2022. "Determinants of common ownership: Exploring an information-based and a competition-based perspective in a global context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 690-702.
    21. Stern, Nicholas & Sivropoulos-Valero, Anna Valero, 2021. "Innovation, growth and the transition to net-zero emissions," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114385, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    22. Horbach, Jens & Rammer, Christian, 2022. "Climate change affectedness and innovation in German firms," ZEW Discussion Papers 22-008, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environment; Social responsibility; Climate change; Innovation; Competition; Patents;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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