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Outward Foreign Direct Investment Patterns of Italian Firms in the European Union's Emission Trading Scheme

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  • Simone Borghesi
  • Chiara Franco
  • Giovanni Marin

Abstract

We consider the role played by the European Union's Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) as a possible driver of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) for Italian manufacturing firms. Using a panel dataset of about 22,000 firms covering the first two phases of the EU ETS and the period before the EU ETS, we measure the patterns of FDI towards countries not covered by the EU ETS. The results show that the EU ETS had a weak effect on the number of new subsidiaries abroad (extensive margin), while it had a larger impact on production taking place in foreign subsidiaries (intensive margin), especially in trade‐intensive sectors.

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  • Simone Borghesi & Chiara Franco & Giovanni Marin, 2020. "Outward Foreign Direct Investment Patterns of Italian Firms in the European Union's Emission Trading Scheme," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 122(1), pages 219-256, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scandj:v:122:y:2020:i:1:p:219-256
    DOI: 10.1111/sjoe.12323
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    3. Yu, Pei & Cai, Zhengfang & Sun, Yongping, 2021. "Does the emissions trading system in developing countries accelerate carbon leakage through OFDI? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    4. Laura Birg & Jan S. Voßwinkel, 2021. "Emission taxes, firm relocation, and product differentiation," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 297-345, April.
    5. Filippo Maria D'Arcangelo & Marzio Galeotti, 2022. "Environmental Policy and Investment Location: The Risk of Carbon Leakage in the EU ETS," Working Papers 2022.27, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    6. Campolmi, Alessia & Fadinger, Harald & Forlati, Chiara & Stillger, Sabine & Wagner, Ulrich, 2023. "Designing Effective Carbon Border Adjustment with Minimal Information Requirements. Theory and Empirics," CEPR Discussion Papers 18645, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Jonathan Colmer & Ralf Martin & Mirabelle Muûls & Ulrich J. Wagner, 2020. "Does pricing carbon mitigate climate change? Firm-level evidence from the European Union emissions trading scheme," CEP Discussion Papers dp1728, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    8. Sadayuki, Taisuke & Arimura, Toshi H., 2021. "Do regional emission trading schemes lead to carbon leakage within firms? Evidence from Japan," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    9. Carattini, Stefano & Kim, Giseong & Melkadze, Givi & Pommeret, Aude, 2024. "Carbon taxes and tariffs, financial frictions, and international spillovers," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    10. Damien Dussaux & Francesco Vona & Antoine Dechezleprêtre, 2023. "Imported carbon emissions: Evidence from French manufacturing companies," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(2), pages 593-621, May.
    11. Belloc, Filippo & Valentini, Edilio, 2022. "Digging into the Technological Dimension of Environmental Productivity," FEEM Working Papers 328580, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    12. Osarumwense Osabuohien-Irabor & Igor Mikhailovich Drapkin, 2024. "The spillover effects of outward FDI on environmental sustainability in developing countries: exploring the channels of home country institutions and human capital," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(8), pages 20597-20627, August.
    13. Peter Kjær Kruse-Andersen & Peter Birch Sørensen, 2021. "Opimal Unilateral Climate Policy with Carbon Leakage at the Extensive and the Intensive Margin," CESifo Working Paper Series 9185, CESifo.
    14. Böschemeier, Jonas & Jochem, Axel, 2024. "The effect of foreign carbon prices on German outward FDI," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    15. Dechezleprêtre, Antoine & Gennaioli, Caterina & Martin, Ralf & Muûls, Mirabelle & Stoerk, Thomas, 2022. "Searching for carbon leaks in multinational companies," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    16. Antoci, Angelo & Borghesi, Simone & Iannucci, Gianluca & Sodini, Mauro, 2021. "Should I stay or should I go? Carbon leakage and ETS in an evolutionary model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    17. Aliénor Cameron & Marc Baudry, 2023. "The case for carbon leakage and border adjustments: where do economists stand?," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 25(3), pages 435-469, July.
    18. Flori, Andrea & Borghesi, Simone & Marin, Giovanni, 2024. "The environmental-financial performance nexus of EU ETS firms: A quantile regression approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    19. D'Arcangelo, Maria Filippo & Galeotti, Marzio, 2022. "Environmental Policy and Investment Location: The Risk of Carbon Leakage in the EU ETS," FEEM Working Papers 327158, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    20. Hafele, Jakob & Kuhls, Sonia, 2022. "Trade-off or tension: Can carbon be priced without risking economic competitiveness?," ZOE Discussion Papers 9, ZOE. institute for future-fit economies, Bonn.

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