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Foreign Direct Investments and Regional Specialization in Environmental Technologies

Author

Listed:
  • Davide Castellani

    (Henley Business School, University of Reading, UK)

  • Giovanni Marin

    (Department of Economics, Society, Politics, University of Urbino, Italy; SEEDS)

  • Sandro Montresor

    (Gran Sasso Science Institute, Italy)

  • Antonello Zanfei

    (Department of Economics, Society, Politics, University of Urbino, Italy)

Abstract

The paper builds on (eco-)innovation geography and international business studies to investigate the effects of MNEs on regional specialisation in green technologies. Combining the OECD-REGPAT and the fDi Markets datasets with respect to 1,050 European NUTS3 regions over the period 2003-2014, we find that MNEs can positively impact on regions’ specialisation in environmental technologies, when their Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) occur in industries with a green technological footprint. The effect of green FDIs is further reinforced if they involve R&D activities. We also find that the relatedness of environmental technologies to pre-existing regional specialisations exerts a negative moderating effect on the role of green R&D FDIs in shaping patterns of specialisation. In particular, green R&D FDIs have a larger effect in regions whose prior knowledge base is highly unrelated to environmental technologies. This result is consistent with the idea that MNEs inject the host region with external knowledge, which makes the development of green-technologies less place-dependent.

Suggested Citation

  • Davide Castellani & Giovanni Marin & Sandro Montresor & Antonello Zanfei, 2020. "Foreign Direct Investments and Regional Specialization in Environmental Technologies," SEEDS Working Papers 0620, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Apr 2020.
    • Handle: RePEc:srt:wpaper:0620
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    1. Jacint Balaguer & Ana Cuadros & Jose García-Quevedo, 2023. "Does foreign ownership promote environmental protection? Evidence from firm-level data," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 227-244, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    green regional specialisation; MNEs; FDIs; environmental innovation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

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