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A Comment on the Environment and Directed Technical Change

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Abstract

The major claim in Acemoglu, Aghion, Bursztyn & Hemous (2012) (AABH) is that subsidies for research and development of clean technologies are more important than carbon taxes when dealing with climate change. However, they - unconventionally - assume that a patent only lasts for one period. In this note we introduce long-lived patents into the AABH model. This makes the role of a research subsidy for clean technologies in AABH far less crucial and reestablishes the role of the carbon tax. This is good news as it is far easier to tax emissions than to pick the right technologies to subsidize.

Suggested Citation

  • Mads Greaker & Tom-Reiel Heggedal, 2012. "A Comment on the Environment and Directed Technical Change," Discussion Papers 713, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    • Handle: RePEc:ssb:dispap:713
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    File URL: https://www.ssb.no/a/publikasjoner/pdf/DP/dp713.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Daron Acemoglu & Philippe Aghion & Leonardo Bursztyn & David Hemous, 2012. "The Environment and Directed Technical Change," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 131-166, February.
    2. Popp, David & Newell, Richard G. & Jaffe, Adam B., 2010. "Energy, the Environment, and Technological Change," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 873-937, Elsevier.
    3. Daron Acemoglu & Ufuk Akcigit, 2012. "Intellectual Property Rights Policy, Competition And Innovation," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 1-42, February.
    4. Daron Acemoglu, 2002. "Directed Technical Change," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 69(4), pages 781-809.
    5. Stephen H. Schneider & Lawrence H. Goulder, 1997. "Achieving low-cost emissions targets," Nature, Nature, vol. 389(6646), pages 13-14, September.
    6. Mosel Malte, 2011. "Competition, Imitation, and R&D Productivity in a Growth Model with Industry-Specific Patent Protection," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 7(2), pages 601-652, December.
    7. Fischer, Carolyn & Newell, Richard G., 2008. "Environmental and technology policies for climate mitigation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 142-162, March.
    8. Gillingham, Kenneth & Newell, Richard G. & Pizer, William A., 2008. "Modeling endogenous technological change for climate policy analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 2734-2753, November.
    9. Futagami, Koichi & Iwaisako, Tatsuro, 2007. "Dynamic analysis of patent policy in an endogenous growth model," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 132(1), pages 306-334, January.
    10. Goulder, Lawrence H. & Schneider, Stephen H., 1999. "Induced technological change and the attractiveness of CO2 abatement policies," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(3-4), pages 211-253, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jan Witajewski-Baltvilks & Carolyn Fischer, 2023. "Green Innovation and Economic Growth in a North–South Model," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(3), pages 615-648, August.
    2. Carolyn Fischer & Garth Heutel, 2013. "Environmental Macroeconomics: Environmental Policy, Business Cycles, and Directed Technical Change," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 5(1), pages 197-210, June.
    3. Zhangsheng Liu & Liuqingqing Yang & Liqin Fan, 2021. "Induced Effect of Environmental Regulation on Green Innovation: Evidence from the Increasing-Block Pricing Scheme," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-15, March.
    4. Gerlagh, Reyer & Kverndokk, Snorre & Rosendahl, Knut Einar, 2014. "The optimal time path of clean energy R&D policy when patents have finite lifetime," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 2-19.
    5. Mattauch, Linus & Creutzig, Felix & Edenhofer, Ottmar, 2015. "Avoiding carbon lock-in: Policy options for advancing structural change," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 49-63.
    6. Pottier, Antonin & Hourcade, Jean-Charles & Espagne, Etienne, 2014. "Modelling the redirection of technical change: The pitfalls of incorporeal visions of the economy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 213-218.
    7. Laura Nowzohour, 2021. "Can Adjustments Costs in Research Derail the Transition to Green Growth ?," CIES Research Paper series 67-2021, Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute.
    8. Dechezlepretre, Antoine & Martin, Ralf & Mohnen, Myra, 2014. "Knowledge spillovers from clean and dirty technologies," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 60501, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Durmaz, Tunç & Schroyen, Fred, 2013. "Evaluating Carbon Capture and Storage in a Climate Model with Directed Technical Change," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 14/2013, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    10. Song, Malin & Wang, Shuhong, 2016. "Can employment structure promote environment-biased technical progress?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 285-292.
    11. Wiskich, Anthony, 2021. "A comment on innovation with multiple equilibria and "The environment and directed technical change"," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    12. Malin Song & Shuhong Wang, 2015. "Environmental Efficiency Evaluation of China Based on a Kind of Congestion and Undesirable Output Coefficient," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 62(4), pages 453-468, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environment; directed technological change; innovation policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • 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

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