The Patterns of Energy Innovation Convergence across European Countries

Energies

Piotr Bolibok¹  Tomasz Kijek²  Anna Matras-Bolibok²  Arkadiusz Kijek³ 

[1] Department of Economic Policy and Banking, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Al. Raclawickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland;Department of Microeconomics and Applied Economics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Plac Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej 5, 20-031 Lublin, Poland;Department of Statistics and Econometrics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Plac Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej 5, 20-031 Lublin, Poland;

关键词: energy innovation;    energy patents;    convergence;    club convergence;    R&D expenditure;    HRST;   

DOI  :  10.3390/en14102755

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Energy innovation is critical for addressing climate change and the ecological transitions of both developed and emerging economies. The present paper aims at the identification and assessment of patterns in energy innovation convergence across a sample of 27 European countries over the period 2000–2018. The research is based on data covering a broad category of patents related to climate change mitigation technologies in the energy sector, including combustion inventions with mitigation potential (e.g., using biomass), extracted from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Statistical Database. Using a nonlinear time-varying factor model, the paper demonstrates that energy innovation efforts in the examined sample follow a pattern of club convergence. The findings allow the identification of three convergence clubs characterised by distinct disparities in energy patent intensity, as measured by the number of patent applications per 10 million inhabitants. Moreover, the results of an ordered logit model demonstrate that the emergence of the identified convergence clubs might be attributable to initial differences in per capita environmental research and development (R&D) expenditure, human resources in science and technology (HRST), and environmental policy stringency. The findings have important policy implications as they suggest the need for more tailored policies based on smart development and specialization frameworks designed to boost the energy innovation performance of the laggard countries, more fully exploiting the potential of their less technologically advanced sectors, such as agriculture.

【 授权许可】

Unknown