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The Political Economy of Energy Innovation

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  • Shouro Dasgupta, Shouro
  • De Cian, Enrica
  • Verdolini, Elena

Abstract

This paper empirically investigates the effects of environmental policy, institutions, political orientation, and lobbying on energy innovation and finds that they significantly affect the incentives to innovate and create cleaner energy efficient technologies. We conclude that political economy factors may act as barriers even in the presence of stringent environmental policy, implying that, to move towards a greener economy, countries should combine environmental policy with a general strengthening of institutional quality, consider the influence of government’s political orientation on environmental policies, and the implications of the size of energy intensive sectors in the economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Shouro Dasgupta, Shouro & De Cian, Enrica & Verdolini, Elena, 2016. "The Political Economy of Energy Innovation," MITP: Mitigation, Innovation and Transformation Pathways 234939, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:feemmi:234939
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.234939
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    Cited by:

    1. Marra, Alessandro & Colantonio, Emiliano, 2021. "The path to renewable energy consumption in the European Union through drivers and barriers: A panel vector autoregressive approach," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Dasgupta, Shouro & De Cian, Enrica, 2016. "Institutions and the Environment: Existing Evidence and Future Directions," MITP: Mitigation, Innovation and Transformation Pathways 240747, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    3. Danish & Recep Ulucak, 2020. "The pathway toward pollution mitigation: Does institutional quality make a difference?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3571-3583, December.
    4. Jin Zhao & Ghulam Rasool Madni, 2021. "The impact of economic and political reforms on environmental performance in developing countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(10), pages 1-12, October.
    5. Qiong Wu & Ghulam Rasool Madni, 2021. "Environmental protection in selected one belt one road economies through institutional quality: Prospering transportation and industrialization," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(1), pages 1-16, January.
    6. De Cian, Enrica & Dasgupta, Shouro & Hof, Andries F. & van Sluisveld, Mariësse A.E. & Köhler, Jonathan & Pfluger, Benjamin & van Vuuren, Detlef P., 2020. "Actors, decision-making, and institutions in quantitative system modelling," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    7. Alessandro Marra & Emiliano Colantonio, 2022. "The institutional and socio-technical determinants of renewable energy production in the EU: implications for policy," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 49(2), pages 267-299, June.
    8. Jian Xue & Zeeshan Rasool & Raima Nazar & Ahmad Imran Khan & Shaukat Hussain Bhatti & Sajid Ali, 2021. "Revisiting Natural Resources—Globalization-Environmental Quality Nexus: Fresh Insights from South Asian Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-19, April.
    9. Nemet, Gregory F. & Zipperer, Vera & Kraus, Martina, 2018. "The valley of death, the technology pork barrel, and public support for large demonstration projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 154-167.
    10. Herman, Kyle S. & Xiang, Jun, 2019. "Induced innovation in clean energy technologies from foreign environmental policy stringency?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 198-207.
    11. Wei Sun & Yufei Hou & Lanjiang Guo, 2018. "Analyzing and Forecasting Energy Consumption in China’s Manufacturing Industry and Its Subindustries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-26, December.
    12. Marra, Alessandro & Colantonio, Emiliano, 2023. "On public policies in the energy transition: Evidence on the role of socio-technical regimes for renewable technologies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political Economy;

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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