IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/srt/wpaper/0721.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The effects of publicly supported environmental innovations on firm growth in the European Union

Author

Listed:
  • Florian Flachenecker

    (European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Brussels, Belgium)

  • Martin Kornejew

    (University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany)

  • Mario Lorenzo Janiri

    (European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Brussels, Belgium)

Abstract

Enabling innovations with environmental benefits is considered crucial to align economic and environmental objectives. We estimate the economic effects of publicly supported environmental innovations for the business economy of 13 Member States of the European Union. Using an instrumental variable approach to address the inherent endogeneity problem, we find that the average publicly supported environmental innovation increases firm employment by 9%, turnover by 12% and market share by 12% over a two-year period. Notwithstanding country and sector heterogeneity, essentially all countries and sectors show positive effects. Moreover, the results are not driven by highly innovative firms but are based on small and medium-sized enterprises with limited innovation activity. Thus, this paper provides robust evidence that public financial support for environmental innovations can align economic and environmental objectives for a broad set of firms, sectors and countries. Public policy supporting environmental innovations might therefore facilitate the recovery and transition to a more sustainable economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Florian Flachenecker & Martin Kornejew & Mario Lorenzo Janiri, 2021. "The effects of publicly supported environmental innovations on firm growth in the European Union," SEEDS Working Papers 0721, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Jun 2021.
    • Handle: RePEc:srt:wpaper:0721
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sustainability-seeds.org/papers/RePec/srt/wpaper/0721.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2021
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://www.sustainability-seeds.org/papers/RePec/srt/wpaper/0721.pdf
    File Function: Revised version, 2021
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Malerba, Franco, 1992. "Learning by Firms and Incremental Technical Change," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 102(413), pages 845-859, July.
    2. William Robert Reed, 2015. "On the Practice of Lagging Variables to Avoid Simultaneity," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 77(6), pages 897-905, December.
    3. Ross Brown & Suzanne Mawson & Colin Mason, 2017. "Myth-busting and entrepreneurship policy: the case of high growth firms," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(5-6), pages 414-443, May.
    4. Stefan Ambec & Mark A. Cohen & Stewart Elgie & Paul Lanoie, 2013. "The Porter Hypothesis at 20: Can Environmental Regulation Enhance Innovation and Competitiveness?," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 7(1), pages 2-22, January.
    5. Szücs, Florian, 2020. "Do research subsidies crowd out private R&D of large firms? Evidence from European Framework Programmes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(3).
    6. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson, 2007. "Disease and Development: The Effect of Life Expectancy on Economic Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 115(6), pages 925-985, December.
    7. Ambec, Stefan & Barla, Philippe, 2002. "A theoretical foundation of the Porter hypothesis," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(3), pages 355-360, May.
    8. Triguero, Angela & Moreno-Mondéjar, Lourdes & Davia, María A., 2013. "Drivers of different types of eco-innovation in European SMEs," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 25-33.
    9. Blanes, J. Vicente & Busom, Isabel, 2004. "Who participates in R&D subsidy programs?: The case of Spanish manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1459-1476, December.
    10. Adam B. Jaffe & Karen Palmer, 1997. "Environmental Regulation And Innovation: A Panel Data Study," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(4), pages 610-619, November.
    11. Veugelers, Reinhilde, 2012. "Which policy instruments to induce clean innovating?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(10), pages 1770-1778.
    12. Klaus Rennings & Christian Rammer, 2011. "The Impact of Regulation-Driven Environmental Innovation on Innovation Success and Firm Performance," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3), pages 255-283.
    13. Rennings, Klaus, 2000. "Redefining innovation -- eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 319-332, February.
    14. Klaus Rennings & Andreas Ziegler & Thomas Zwick, 2004. "The effect of environmental innovations on employment changes: an econometric analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(6), pages 374-387, November.
    15. Sendhil Mullainathan & Marianne Bertrand, 2001. "Do People Mean What They Say? Implications for Subjective Survey Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 67-72, May.
    16. Petra Andries & Ute Stephan, 2019. "Environmental Innovation and Firm Performance: How Firm Size and Motives Matter," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-17, June.
    17. Paul Ekins, 2010. "Eco-innovation for environmental sustainability: concepts, progress and policies," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 267-290, August.
    18. Wagner, Martin & Hong, Seung Hyun, 2016. "Cointegrating Polynomial Regressions: Fully Modified Ols Estimation And Inference," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(5), pages 1289-1315, October.
    19. Doran, Justin & Ryan, Geraldine, 2012. "Regulation and Firm Perception, Eco-Innovation and Firm Performance," MPRA Paper 44578, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Ferrando, Annalisa & Pal, Rozalia & Durante, Elena, 2019. "Financing and obstacles for high growth enterprises: The European case," EIB Working Papers 2019/03, European Investment Bank (EIB).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Florian Flachenecker & Martin Kornejew, 2019. "The causal impact of material productivity on microeconomic competitiveness and environmental performance in the European Union," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 21(1), pages 87-122, January.
    2. Pinget, Amandine, 2016. "Spécificités des déterminants des innovations environnementales : une approche appliquée aux PME [Specificities of determinants for environmental innovation : an approach applied to SMEs]," MPRA Paper 80108, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Ghisetti, Claudia & Pontoni, Federico, 2015. "Investigating policy and R&D effects on environmental innovation: A meta-analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 57-66.
    4. Teemu Makkonen & Sari Repka, 2016. "The innovation inducement impact of environmental regulations on maritime transport: a literature review," International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 10(1), pages 69-86.
    5. Alessandra Colombelli & Jackie Krafft & Francesco Quatraro, 2021. "Firms’ growth, green gazelles and eco-innovation: evidence from a sample of European firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1721-1738, April.
    6. Francesco Crespi & Claudia Ghisetti & Francesco Quatraro, 2015. "Environmental and innovation policies for the evolution of green technologies: a survey and a test," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(2), pages 343-370, December.
    7. Jana Hojnik, 2017. "In Pursuit of Eco-innovation," UPP Monograph Series, University of Primorska Press, number 978-961-7023-53-4.
    8. Hoogendoorn, Brigitte & van der Zwan, Peter & Thurik, Roy, 2020. "Goal heterogeneity at start-up: are greener start-ups more innovative?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(10).
    9. Ren, Qiuzhen & Albrecht, Johan, 2023. "Toward circular economy: The impact of policy instruments on circular economy innovation for European small medium enterprises," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    10. Ángela Triguero & María C. Cuerva & Carlos Álvarez-Aledo, 2017. "Environmental Innovation and Employment: Drivers and Synergies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-22, November.
    11. Stucki, Tobias & Woerter, Martin & Arvanitis, Spyros & Peneder, Michael & Rammer, Christian, 2018. "How different policy instruments affect green product innovation: A differentiated perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 245-261.
    12. Orsatti, Gianluca & Pezzoni, Michele & Quatraro, Francesco, 2017. "Where Do Green Technologies Come From? Inventor Teams’ Recombinant Capabilities and the Creation of New Knowledge," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201711, University of Turin.
    13. Durán-Romero, Gemma & López, Ana M. & Beliaeva, Tatiana & Ferasso, Marcos & Garonne, Christophe & Jones, Paul, 2020. "Bridging the gap between circular economy and climate change mitigation policies through eco-innovations and Quintuple Helix Model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    14. Joana Costa, 2021. "Carrots or Sticks: Which Policies Matter the Most in Sustainable Resource Management?," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-21, February.
    15. Costantini, Valeria & Crespi, Francesco & Paglialunga, Elena, 2018. "The employment impact of private and public actions for energy efficiency: Evidence from European industries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 250-267.
    16. Justin Doran & Geraldine Ryan, 2016. "The Importance of the Diverse Drivers and Types of Environmental Innovation for Firm Performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 102-119, February.
    17. Patricia Laurens & Christian Le Bas & Stéphane Lhuillery & Antoine Schoen, 2017. "The determinants of cleaner energy innovations of the world’s largest firms: the impact of firm learning and knowledge capital," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 311-333, May.
    18. Phu Nguyen-Van & Tuyen Tiet & Quoc Tran-Nam, 2024. "Synergy in environmental compliance, innovation and export on SMEs' growth," Working Papers hal-04441426, HAL.
    19. Francesco Crespi & Claudia Ghisetti & Francesco Quatraro, 2015. "Taxonomy of Implemented Policy Instruments to Foster the Production of Green Technologies and Improve Environmental and Economic Performance. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 90," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58131, August.
    20. Faria, Lourenço Galvão Diniz & Andersen, Maj Munch, 2017. "Sectoral patterns versus firm-level heterogeneity - The dynamics of eco-innovation strategies in the automotive sector," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 266-281.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    eco-innovation; environmental innovation; competitiveness; firm growth; European Union;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C26 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Instrumental Variables (IV) Estimation
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O44 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Environment and Growth
    • Q32 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Exhaustible Resources and Economic Development
    • 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

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:srt:wpaper:0721. 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: Alessandro Palma (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sustainability-seeds.org .

    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.