IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v193y2024ics0301421524002994.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Renewable energy policy performance and technological innovation in Africa: A Bayesian estimation

Author

Listed:
  • Nyiwul, Linus
  • Koirala, Niraj P.

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of renewable energy policy performance on innovation activity in the renewable energy sector in a sample of thirty-three African countries during the period 2010–2021. The policy performance we use covers carbon pricing, incentives for grid-connected and distributed renewable energy generation, fiscal incentives for renewable energy, legal framework for renewable energy, off-take risk, network connection and pricing, and policy design attributes. Using patent data and renewable policy performance to fit a Bayesian negative binomial, our results generally show that renewable energy policy in the region supports technological innovation in the sector. Policy initiatives focused on market-based incentives (auctions and tariffs), renewable portfolio standards, risk mitigation, network connection and pricing are largely responsible for a strong and statistically significant relationship between renewable energy policy and innovation activity. We also find evidence that intellectual property rights, renewable energy capacity, electricity prices, affordability of renewable energy, and openness to trade proxies are important drivers of innovation activity in the renewable energy sector. Our analysis finds no evidence that research and development is a significant determinant of renewable energy innovation in African countries. Our results serve to inform policymakers on the areas in which specific policy actions are most effective at promoting innovation in the renewable energy sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Nyiwul, Linus & Koirala, Niraj P., 2024. "Renewable energy policy performance and technological innovation in Africa: A Bayesian estimation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:193:y:2024:i:c:s0301421524002994
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114279
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421524002994
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114279?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Energy policy; Renewable energy; Patents; Technology development; Innovation; Energy security; Climate change;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - 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

    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:eee:enepol:v:193:y:2024:i:c:s0301421524002994. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    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.