IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reveco/v85y2023icp638-646.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does innovation save more energy? Evidence from Chinese Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Gao, Jingyi
  • Ren, Yuanming

Abstract

How to improve energy efficiency is vital under the dual carbon target, and has been one of the central topics for economists and policymakers. Relying on the novel merged data at the firm level in China, we investigate the role of innovation activities on firms’ energy usage. The results show that innovation indeed promotes energy efficiency, and further, the patent with higher quality shows larger promotion effect. In addition, this paper provides heterogeneity tests, and find that the promotion effect of patent on energy efficiency is only valid for state-owned, private, and foreign firms. Meanwhile, the marginal effect is highest in western area but lowest in the eastern area. Then, we examine the mechanism of the energy-saving effect, and that effect is more pronounced in high-tech and high-pollution industries. The policy implication is obvious that the speed up of innovation-led growth can benefit the energy efficiency improvement.

Suggested Citation

  • Gao, Jingyi & Ren, Yuanming, 2023. "Does innovation save more energy? Evidence from Chinese Firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 638-646.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:85:y:2023:i:c:p:638-646
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2022.11.018
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056022002866
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.iref.2022.11.018?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.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sun, Huaping & Edziah, Bless Kofi & Kporsu, Anthony Kwaku & Sarkodie, Samuel Asumadu & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2021. "Energy efficiency: The role of technological innovation and knowledge spillover," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Zhang, Yue-Jun & Da, Ya-Bin, 2015. "The decomposition of energy-related carbon emission and its decoupling with economic growth in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1255-1266.
    3. Love, James H. & Roper, Stephen & Du, Jun, 2009. "Innovation, ownership and profitability," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 424-434, May.
    4. Frederique Savignac, 2008. "Impact Of Financial Constraints On Innovation: What Can Be Learned From A Direct Measure?," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(6), pages 553-569.
    5. Fonseca, Tiago & de Faria, Pedro & Lima, Francisco, 2019. "Human capital and innovation: the importance of the optimal organizational task structure," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 616-627.
    6. Michele Battisti & Filippo Belloc & Massimo Del Gatto, 2015. "Unbundling Technology Adoption and tfp at the Firm Level: Do Intangibles Matter?," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 390-414, June.
    7. Dang, Jianwei & Motohashi, Kazuyuki, 2015. "Patent statistics: A good indicator for innovation in China? Patent subsidy program impacts on patent quality," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 137-155.
    8. Huang, Junbing & Hao, Yu & Lei, Hongyan, 2018. "Indigenous versus foreign innovation and energy intensity in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 1721-1729.
    9. Torben Schubert & Léopold Simar, 2011. "Innovation and export activities in the German mechanical engineering sector: an application of testing restrictions in production analysis," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 55-69, August.
    10. Baumann, Julian & Kritikos, Alexander S., 2016. "The link between R&D, innovation and productivity: Are micro firms different?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 1263-1274.
    11. Kancs, d’Artis & Siliverstovs, Boriss, 2016. "R&D and non-linear productivity growth," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 634-646.
    12. Yongzheng Liu & Jie Mao, 2019. "How Do Tax Incentives Affect Investment and Productivity? Firm-Level Evidence from China," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 261-291, August.
    13. Jin, Peizhen & Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Song, Malin, 2022. "The power of innovation diffusion: How patent transfer affects urban innovation quality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 414-425.
    14. Ugur, Mehmet & Trushin, Eshref & Solomon, Edna & Guidi, Francesco, 2016. "R&D and productivity in OECD firms and industries: A hierarchical meta-regression analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(10), pages 2069-2086.
    15. Beñat Bilbao‐Osorio & Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose, 2004. "From R&D to Innovation and Economic Growth in the EU," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 434-455, September.
    16. Liu, Hongtao & Xi, Youmin & Guo, Ju'e & Li, Xia, 2010. "Energy embodied in the international trade of China: An energy input-output analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 3957-3964, August.
    17. Wurlod, Jules-Daniel & Noailly, Joëlle, 2018. "The impact of green innovation on energy intensity: An empirical analysis for 14 industrial sectors in OECD countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 47-61.
    18. Elena Golovko & Giovanni Valentini, 2011. "Exploring the complementarity between innovation and export for SMEs’ growth," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 42(3), pages 362-380, April.
    19. Hanna Hottenrott & Bettina Peters, 2012. "Innovative Capability and Financing Constraints for Innovation: More Money, More Innovation?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(4), pages 1126-1142, November.
    20. Atabani, A.E. & Silitonga, A.S. & Badruddin, Irfan Anjum & Mahlia, T.M.I. & Masjuki, H.H. & Mekhilef, S., 2012. "A comprehensive review on biodiesel as an alternative energy resource and its characteristics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 2070-2093.
    21. Hübler, Michael & Keller, Andreas, 2010. "Energy savings via FDI? Empirical evidence from developing countries," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 59-80, February.
    22. Polzin, Friedemann & Sanders, Mark & Serebriakova, Alexandra, 2021. "Finance in global transition scenarios: Mapping investments by technology into finance needs by source," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    23. Silber, William L, 1983. "The Process of Financial Innovation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(2), pages 89-95, May.
    24. Roper, Stephen & Love, James H., 2002. "Innovation and export performance: evidence from the UK and German manufacturing plants," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1087-1102, September.
    25. Wakelin, Katharine, 1998. "Innovation and export behaviour at the firm level," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(7-8), pages 829-841, April.
    26. Ulrich Doraszelski & Jordi Jaumandreu, 2013. "R&D and Productivity: Estimating Endogenous Productivity," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 80(4), pages 1338-1383.
    27. Guangzhou Hu, Albert, 2001. "Ownership, Government R&D, Private R&D, and Productivity in Chinese Industry," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 136-157, March.
    28. Tchorzewska, K.B. & Garcia-Quevedo, J. & Martinez-Ros, E., 2022. "The heterogeneous effects of environmental taxation on green technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(7).
    29. Chen, Jin & Heng, Cheng Suang & Tan, Bernard C.Y. & Lin, Zhijie, 2018. "The distinct signaling effects of R&D subsidy and non-R&D subsidy on IPO performance of IT entrepreneurial firms in China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 108-120.
    30. Chakraborty, Saptorshee Kanto & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2020. "Energy intensity and green energy innovation: Checking heterogeneous country effects in the OECD," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 328-343.
    31. Jože P. Damijan & Črt Kostevc & Sašo Polanec, 2010. "From Innovation to Exporting or Vice Versa?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 374-398, March.
    32. Gao, Kang & Yuan, Yijun, 2021. "The effect of innovation-driven development on pollution reduction: Empirical evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    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. Lei Wang & Xuan Jiang & Tingqiang Chen & Ruirui Zhu, 2024. "The Contagion of Debt Default Risk in Energy Enterprises Considering Carbon Price Fluctuations," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-27, September.

    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. Wu, Lichao & Wei, Yingqi & Wang, Chengang, 2021. "Disentangling the effects of business groups in the innovation-export relationship," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    2. Maria Luisa Mancusi & Andrea Vezzulli & Serena Frazzoni & Zeno Rotondi & Maurizio Sobrero, 2018. "Export and Innovation in Small and Medium Enterprises: The Role of Concentrated Bank Borrowing," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 85(337), pages 177-204, January.
    3. Masso, Jaan & Tiwari, Amaresh K., 2024. "Productivity impacts of R&D and non-R&D modes of technological change for incumbents and entrants in a catching-up economy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    4. Lopez, Carmen & Yacine Haddoud, Mohamed & Kasturiratne, Dulekha, 2022. "Revisiting the innovation–export entry link through a configuration approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 927-937.
    5. Marie Le Mouel & Alexander Schiersch, 2020. "Knowledge-Based Capital and Productivity Divergence," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1868, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    6. Wu, Lichao & Wei, Yingqi & Wang, Chengang & McDonald, Frank & Han, Xia, 2022. "The importance of institutional and financial resources for export performance associated with technological innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    7. Tian, Guangning & Zhou, Shuyuan & Hsu, Sara, 2020. "Executive financial literacy and firm innovation in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    8. Falk, Martin & de Lemos, Francisco Figueira, 2019. "Complementarity of R&D and productivity in SME export behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 157-168.
    9. Ahmad, Manzoor, 2021. "Non-linear dynamics of innovation activities over the business cycles: Empirical evidence from OECD economies," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    10. Saridakis, George & Idris, Bochra & Hansen, Jared M. & Dana, Leo Paul, 2019. "SMEs' internationalisation: When does innovation matter?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 250-263.
    11. Richard Harris & John Moffat, 2011. "R&D, Innovation and Exporting," SERC Discussion Papers 0073, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    12. Jaan Masso & Amaresh K Tiwari, 2021. "Productivity Implications Of R&D, Innovation And Capital Accumulation For Incumbents And Entrants: The Case Of Estonia," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 130, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    13. Trinh, Long Q., 2016. "Dynamics of Innovation and Internationalization among Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Viet Nam," ADBI Working Papers 580, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    14. Zhu, Facang & Shi, Qiule & Balezentis, Tomas & Zhang, Chonghui, 2023. "The impact of e-commerce and R&D on firm-level production in China: Evidence from manufacturing sector," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 101-110.
    15. Woerter, Martin & Roper, Stephen, 2010. "Openness and innovation--Home and export demand effects on manufacturing innovation: Panel data evidence for Ireland and Switzerland," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 155-164, February.
    16. Idris, Bochra & Saridakis, George & Khan, Zaheer, 2022. "The Effect of Outward and Inward Internationalisation on Different Types of Innovation: Evidence from UK SMEs," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(2).
    17. Zhonghua Cheng & Wenwen Li, 2018. "Independent R and D, Technology Introduction, and Green Growth in China’s Manufacturing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-14, January.
    18. Gornig, Martin & Schiersch, Alexander, 2019. "Agglomeration economies and firm TFP: different effects across industries," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203597, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    19. Graziella Bonanno & Annalisa Ferrando & Stefania Patrizia Sonia Rossi, 2023. "Do innovation and financial constraints affect the profit efficiency of European enterprises?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(1), pages 57-86, March.
    20. Audretsch, David & Hafenstein, Marian & Kritikos, Alexander S. & Schiersch, Alexander, 2018. "Firm Size and Innovation in the Service Sector," IZA Discussion Papers 12035, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation; Energy efficiency; Patent type; Heterogeneity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • Q40 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - General

    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:reveco:v:85:y:2023:i:c:p:638-646. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620165 .

    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.