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External sources of clean technology: Evidence from the Clean Development Mechanism

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  • Patrick Bayer
  • Johannes Urpelainen

Abstract

New technology is fundamental to sustainable development. However, inventors from industrialized countries often refuse technology transfer because they worry about reverse-engineering. When can clean technology transfer succeed? We develop a formal model of the political economy of North–South technology transfer. According to the model, technology transfer is possible if (1) the technology in focus has limited global commercial potential or (2) the host developing country does not have the capacity to absorb new technologies for commercial use. If both conditions fail, inventors from industrialized countries worry about the adverse competitiveness effects of reverse-engineering, so technology transfer fails. Data analysis of technology transfer in 4,894 projects implemented under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism during the 2004–2010 period provides evidence in support of the model. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Patrick Bayer & Johannes Urpelainen, 2013. "External sources of clean technology: Evidence from the Clean Development Mechanism," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 81-109, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:revint:v:8:y:2013:i:1:p:81-109
    DOI: 10.1007/s11558-012-9150-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhanjie Wang & Yongfeng Ma & Shasha Wang & Yongjian Wang, 2023. "Research on the Heterogeneity Threshold Effect of Foreign Direct Investment and Corporate Social Responsibility on Haze Pollution," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Dechezleprêtre, Antoine & Neumayer, Eric & Perkins, Richard, 2015. "Environmental regulation and the cross-border diffusion of new technology: Evidence from automobile patents," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 244-257.
    3. Bayer, Patrick & Marcoux, Christopher & Urpelainen, Johannes, 2013. "Leveraging private capital for climate mitigation: Evidence from the Clean Development Mechanism," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 14-24.
    4. David Victor, 2013. "Foreign Aid for Capacity-Building to Address Climate Change: Insights and Applications," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2013-084, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Beatriz Jiménez‐Parra & Daniel Alonso‐Martínez & José‐Luis Godos‐Díez, 2018. "The influence of corporate social responsibility on air pollution: Analysis of environmental regulation and eco‐innovation effects," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1363-1375, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Technology transfer; Political economy; Clean Development Mechanism; D02; F55; O33; Q54; Q56;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • F55 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Institutional Arrangements
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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