IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/rff/dpaper/dp-99-42.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Economics of Technology Diffusion: Implications for Climate Policy in Developing Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Blackman, Allen

    (Resources for the Future)

Abstract

Recent efforts to forge a consensus on the role developing countries should play in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions have focused attention on climate friendly technologies (CFTs), most notably those that enhance energy efficiency. In the medium term, the effectiveness of technology-based climate strategies will depend critically on the rates at which CFTs diffuse in developing countries. This paper reviews some of the key findings of the economics research on technology diffusion and assesses the implications for climate policy. The most obvious lessons from this research are that widespread diffusion of CFTs may take decades, and that diffusion rates in developing and industrialized countries are likely to be quite different. In addition, the literature has implications for a number of strategies for promoting technology diffusion including information dissemination, factor price rationalization, and investment in human capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Blackman, Allen, 1999. "The Economics of Technology Diffusion: Implications for Climate Policy in Developing Countries," RFF Working Paper Series dp-99-42, Resources for the Future.
  • Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-99-42
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.rff.org/RFF/documents/RFF-DP-99-42.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stoneman, P L, 1985. "Technological Diffusion : The Viewpoint of Economic Theory," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 270, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    2. Justin Yifu Lin, 1991. "Education and Innovation Adoption in Agriculture: Evidence from Hybrid Rice in China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 73(3), pages 713-723.
    3. Sharon Oster, 1982. "The Diffusion of Innovation among Steel Firms: The Basic Oxygen Furnace," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(1), pages 45-56, Spring.
    4. Feder, Gershon & Just, Richard E & Zilberman, David, 1985. "Adoption of Agricultural Innovations in Developing Countries: A Survey," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(2), pages 255-298, January.
    5. Adams, Dale W & Von Pischke, J. D., 1992. "Microenterprise credit programs: Deja vu," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 20(10), pages 1463-1470, October.
    6. Norman J. IRELAND & Paul L. STONEMAN, 1985. "Order Effects, Perfect Foresight and Intertemporal Price Discrimination," Discussion Papers (REL - Recherches Economiques de Louvain) 1985012, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    7. Jensen, Richard, 1983. "Innovation adoption and diffusion when there are competing innovations," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 161-171, February.
    8. Paul Sommers, 1980. "The Adoption of Nuclear Power Generation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 11(1), pages 283-291, Spring.
    9. Nancy L. Rose & Paul L. Joskow, 1990. "The Diffusion of New Technologies: Evidence from the Electric Utility Industry," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 21(3), pages 354-373, Autumn.
    10. Jennifer F. Reinganum, 1981. "Market Structure and the Diffusion of New Technology," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 12(2), pages 618-624, Autumn.
    11. Lanjouw, Jean Olson & Mody, Ashoka, 1996. "Innovation and the international diffusion of environmentally responsive technology," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 549-571, June.
    12. Herman C. Quirmbach, 1986. "The Diffusion of New Technology and the Market for an Innovation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(1), pages 33-47, Spring.
    13. Drew Fudenberg & Jean Tirole, 1985. "Preemption and Rent Equalization in the Adoption of New Technology," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 52(3), pages 383-401.
    14. Pitt, Mark M & Sumodiningrat, Gunawan, 1991. "Risk, Schooling and the Choice of Seed Technology in Developing Countries: A Meta-Profit Function Approach," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 32(2), pages 457-473, May.
    15. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    16. Lucke, Matthias, 1993. "The diffusion of process innovations in industrialized and developing countries: A case study of the world textile and steel industries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 21(7), pages 1225-1238, July.
    17. Blackman, Allen & Bannister, Geoffrey J., 1998. "Community Pressure and Clean Technology in the Informal Sector: An Econometric Analysis of the Adoption of Propane by Traditional Mexican Brickmakers," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 1-21, January.
    18. Kislev Yoav & Nira Shchori-Bachrach, 1973. "The Process of an Innovation Cycle," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 55(1), pages 28-37.
    19. Massoud Karshenas & Paul L. Stoneman, 1993. "Rank, Stock, Order, and Epidemic Effects in the Diffusion of New Process Technologies: An Empirical Model," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 24(4), pages 503-528, Winter.
    20. Richard K. Lester & Mark J. McCabe, 1993. "The Effect of Industrial Structure on Learning by Doing in Nuclear Power Plant Operation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 24(3), pages 418-438, Autumn.
    21. Keijiro Otsuka & Gustav Ranis & Gary Saxonhouse, 1988. "Comparative Technology Choice in Development," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-19140-6, March.
    22. Milliman, Scott R. & Prince, Raymond, 1989. "Firm incentives to promote technological change in pollution control," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 247-265, November.
    23. Stoneman, Paul & Diederen, Paul, 1994. "Technology Diffusion and Public Policy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(425), pages 918-930, July.
    24. Jaffe Adam B. & Stavins Robert N., 1995. "Dynamic Incentives of Environmental Regulations: The Effects of Alternative Policy Instruments on Technology Diffusion," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 43-63, November.
    25. Blackman, Allen & Harrington, Winston, 1999. "The Use of Economic Incentives in Developing Countries: Lessons from International Experience with Industrial Air Pollution," RFF Working Paper Series dp-99-39, Resources for the Future.
    26. repec:bla:ecorec:v:52:y:1976:i:138:p:239-50 is not listed on IDEAS
    27. Minami, Ryoshin & Makino, Fumio, 1983. "Conditions for Technological Diffusion : Case of Power Looms," Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 23(2), pages 1-20, February.
    28. Timothy H. Hannan & John M. McDowell, 1984. "The Determinants of Technology Adoption: The Case of the Banking Firm," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 15(3), pages 328-335, Autumn.
    29. Antonelli, Cristiano & Petit, Pascal & Tahar, Gabriel, 1990. "The diffusion of interdependent innovations in the textile industry," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 207-224, December.
    30. Pargal, Sheoli & Wheeler, David, 1996. "Informal Regulation of Industrial Pollution in Developing Countries: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1314-1327, December.
    31. Swan, Philip L, 1973. "The International Diffusion of an Innovation," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 61-69, September.
    32. Feder, Gershon & O'Mara, Gerald T, 1981. "Farm Size and the Diffusion of Green Revolution Technology," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(1), pages 59-76, October.
    33. Stoneman, P., 1980. "The rate of imitation, learning and profitability," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 179-183.
    34. Walter Adams & Joel B. Dirlam, 1966. "Big Steel, Invention, and Innovation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 80(2), pages 167-189.
    35. Lovell S. Jarvis, 1981. "Predicting the Diffusion of Improved Pastures in Uruguay," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 63(3), pages 495-502.
    36. Globerman, Steven, 1975. "Technological Diffusion in the Canadian Tool and Die Industry," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 57(4), pages 428-434, November.
    37. Romeo, Anthony A, 1975. "Interindustry and Interfirm Differences in the Rate of Diffusion of an Innovation," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 57(3), pages 311-319, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dechezleprêtre, Antoine & Glachant, Matthieu & Ménière, Yann, 2008. "The Clean Development Mechanism and the international diffusion of technologies: An empirical study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 1273-1283, April.
    2. Martin, Ralf, 2009. "Why is the US so energy intensive? Evidence from US multinationals in the UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28703, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Javier Carrillo-Hermosilla & Pablo Chafla, 2005. "IE WP 01/03 Technology transfer and sustainable development in emerging economies," Others 0509002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Dechezlepretre, Antoine & Glachant, Matthieu & Hascic, Ivan & Johnstone, Nick & Meniere, Yann, 2009. "Invention and Transfer of Climate Change Mitigation Technologies on a Global Scale: A Study Drawing on Patent Data," Sustainable Development Papers 54361, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    5. Matthieu Glachant & Yann Ménière, 2011. "Project Mechanisms and Technology Diffusion in Climate Policy," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 49(3), pages 405-423, July.
    6. Javier Carrillo-Hermosilla & Gregory C. Unruh, 2006. "Technology Stability and Change: An Integrated Evolutionary Approach," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 707-742, September.
    7. Dilek Cetindamar, 2007. "Corporate Social Responsibility Practices and Environmentally Responsible Behavior: The Case of The United Nations Global Compact," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 76(2), pages 163-176, December.
    8. McFarland, James R. & Herzog, Howard J., 2006. "Incorporating carbon capture and storage technologies in integrated assessment models," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(5-6), pages 632-652, November.
    9. Greg W. Hunter, 2011. "Adoption Criteria, Diffusion and Firm Size: The Role of Learning in Reconciling Theories of Endogenous Technical Change with Empirical Evidence," Chapters, in: Raymond J.G.M. Florax & Henri L.F. de Groot & Peter Mulder (ed.), Improving Energy Efficiency through Technology, chapter 6, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Solmaria Halleck Vega & Antoine Mandel, 2017. "A network-based approach to technology transfers in the context of climate policy," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 17009, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    11. Doranova, Asel & Costa, Ionara & Duysters, Geert, 2010. "Knowledge base determinants of technology sourcing in clean development mechanism projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5550-5559, October.
    12. Antoine Dechezleprêtre & Matthieu Glachant & Ivan Haščič & Nick Johnstone & Yann Ménière, 2011. "Invention and Transfer of Climate Change--Mitigation Technologies: A Global Analysis," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 5(1), pages 109-130, Winter.
    13. Carrillo-Hermosilla, Javier, 2006. "A policy approach to the environmental impacts of technological lock-in," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 717-742, July.
    14. Khem Raj Dahal & Shiva Ch & ra Dhakal, "undated". "The Relative Efficiency of Organic Farming in Nepal," Working papers 105, The South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics.
    15. Dechezleprêtre, Antoine & Glachant, Matthieu & Ménière, Yann, 2009. "Technology transfer by CDM projects: A comparison of Brazil, China, India and Mexico," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 703-711, February.

    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. Rui Baptista, 1999. "The Diffusion of Process Innovations: A Selective Review," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 107-129.
    2. Gomez, Jaime & Vargas, Pilar, 2009. "The effect of financial constraints, absorptive capacity and complementarities on the adoption of multiple process technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 106-119, February.
    3. Stoneman, Paul & Battisti, Giuliana, 2010. "The Diffusion of New Technology," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 733-760, Elsevier.
    4. Stavins, Robert & Jaffe, Adam & Newell, Richard, 2000. "Technological Change and the Environment," Working Paper Series rwp00-002, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    5. Suzi Kerr & Richard G. Newell, 2003. "Policy‐Induced Technology Adoption: Evidence from the U.S. Lead Phasedown," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 317-343, September.
    6. Fuentelsaz, Lucio & Gomez, Jaime & Polo, Yolanda, 2003. "Intrafirm diffusion of new technologies: an empirical application," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 533-551, April.
    7. Jaffe, Adam B. & Newell, Richard G. & Stavins, Robert N., 2003. "Chapter 11 Technological change and the environment," Handbook of Environmental Economics, in: K. G. Mäler & J. R. Vincent (ed.), Handbook of Environmental Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 11, pages 461-516, Elsevier.
    8. Massoud Karshenas & Paul L. Stoneman, 1993. "Rank, Stock, Order, and Epidemic Effects in the Diffusion of New Process Technologies: An Empirical Model," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 24(4), pages 503-528, Winter.
    9. Adela Luque, 2000. "An Option-Value Approach to Technology in U.S. Maufacturing: Evidence from Plant-Level Data," Working Papers 00-12, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    10. Battisti, Giuliana & Stoneman, Paul, 2005. "The intra-firm diffusion of new process technologies," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 23(1-2), pages 1-22, February.
    11. Jalal Akhavein & W. Scott Frame & Lawrence J. White, 2005. "The Diffusion of Financial Innovations: An Examination of the Adoption of Small Business Credit Scoring by Large Banking Organizations," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(2), pages 577-596, March.
    12. Baptista, Rui, 2000. "Do innovations diffuse faster within geographical clusters?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 515-535, April.
    13. Katja Seim & V. Brian Viard, 2011. "The Effect of Market Structure on Cellular Technology Adoption and Pricing," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 221-251, May.
    14. Brant Callaway & Vivek Ghosal, 2012. "Adoption and Diffusion of Health Information Technology - The Case of Primary Care Clinics," CESifo Working Paper Series 3925, CESifo.
    15. David Popp, 2006. "Exploring Links Between Innovation and Diffusion: Adoption of NOx Control Technologies at U.S. Coal-Fired Power Plants," NBER Working Papers 12119, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Popp, David, 2005. "Lessons from patents: Using patents to measure technological change in environmental models," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2-3), pages 209-226, August.
    17. Geroski, P. A., 2000. "Models of technology diffusion," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4-5), pages 603-625, April.
    18. Blackman, Allen & Bannister, Geoffrey J., 1998. "Community Pressure and Clean Technology in the Informal Sector: An Econometric Analysis of the Adoption of Propane by Traditional Mexican Brickmakers," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 1-21, January.
    19. Rachel BOCQUET (IREGE, IUT-University of Savoie) & Olivier BROSSARD (LEREPS-GRES), 2006. "Information Technologies (IT) Adoption and Localized Knowledge Diffusion: an Empirical Study," Cahiers du GRES (2002-2009) 2006-17, Groupement de Recherches Economiques et Sociales.
    20. Robert S. Huckman, 2003. "The Utilization of Competing Technologies Within the Firm: Evidence from Cardiac Procedures," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(5), pages 599-617, May.

    More about this item

    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:rff:dpaper:dp-99-42. 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: Resources for the Future (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rffffus.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.