Technology Spillovers Research Articles

The effects of climate change technology spillovers on carbon emissions across European countries

To unravel the challenges in the global diffusion of climate-friendly technologies, this investigation analyzes the diffusion of climate change-related technologies across countries. By using an unbalanced panel of selected European countries over the period 1990-2020, this investigation quantifies the carbon dioxide (CO2) emission effects of the diffusion of climate change-related technologies that are mediated by imports, geographical and technological proximity and free diffusion of technologies. In this study, the effects of domestic development of climate change-related technologies, population and affluence are also accounted for, and the emission effects are estimated using a fixed-effects panel model with instrumental variables. The instrumental variable for foreign technology spillovers is based on the technology support policies adopted in foreign countries. As expected, international spillovers of climate-friendly technologies are negatively linked to CO2 emissions, thus promoting emission reductions across the region. Importantly, emission reductions in Europe are more strongly influenced by international technology spillovers than by domestic innovation activities. Moreover, while all the analyzed technology diffusion channels appear relevant, the results are the most robust regarding import-mediated technology spillovers. Insights from this study support policy recommendations, especially in the trade policy context.

Domesticating sustainability transitions: Spatial and temporal variation of industrial eco-efficiency in China

This study analyses regional industrial sustainability transitions from global and local perspectives. We measure industrial eco-efficiency (IEE) of 280 cities in China from 2010 to 2020 and analyze potential influencing factors using geographical and temporal weighted regression model. We find that foreign investment and international trade are positively associated with IEE with diminishing effects, and then local household consumption enhances IEE on the basis of local environmental governance. The effects of international environmental regulations and technology spillover on IEE are positive, as they align with China's drive for innovation. We further categorize cities into five distinct types based on the influences of both global and local factors—dominated by local environmental regulations, driven by international standards, propelled by foreign investment, shaped by local market dynamics, and affected by multiple factors. We conclude that regional industrial sustainability transitions in China are influenced by forces operating at various scales and exhibit distinct spatiotemporal variation. The drivers of these transitions have shifted from a global scale to a local scale, and both regional conditions and the stage of industrialization significantly affect the intensity of actions undertaken by different scale factors. Finally, we propose policy recommendations, considering regional heterogeneity and the stages of industrialization.

Evaluating the role of technology and technological spillovers on CO2 emissions

Evaluating the role of technology and technological spillovers on CO2 emissions

Intellectual property rights protection and sustainable innovation performance: The mediating role of technology spillover

AbstractDespite extensive research into the factors driving sustainable innovation, there remains a significant gap in understanding the impact of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection. This study delves into how IPR protection influences sustainable innovation performance and explores the mechanism of technology spillover and the condition of absorptive capacity. Analyzing data from 266 firms in Vietnam, our findings indicate a positive correlation between IPR protection and technology spillover. Additionally, we find that technology spillover mediates the relationship between IPR protection and sustainable innovation performance. Interestingly, we show that absorptive capacity bolsters the relationship between technology spillover and sustainable innovation performance. These insights offer valuable additions to the existing literature on IPR protection and sustainable innovation literature. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed in detail.

The industrial technological spillover effect and differentiation characteristics of industrial chains in the ecological efficiency of the yellow river basin

The Yellow River Basin (YRB) stands as a critical ecological barrier and a significant economic hub, bridging the western and eastern regions of China. To investigate the synergy of ecoefficiency within the industrial chain of the YRB, this paper introduces a novel research approach. By establishing an industrial technology similarity matrix, spatial econometric models can be employed to analyze spillover effects, which provides a new tool for related research and overcomes some drawbacks of previous studies. The study reveals that industrial ecoefficiency exhibits distinct interaction characteristics across different spatial dimensions. Specifically, the interaction effect within the province is notably superior to that observed within the YRB, as well as in the broader region encompassing the adjacent provinces of the YRB. The upstream and downstream provinces demonstrate a robust level of interaction within their local scopes. However, the middle reaches of provinces exhibit a weak link that undermines the spillover capacity of industrial ecoefficiency across the entire YRB. This finding suggests that hierarchical policy measures should be devised according to the characteristics of spillover effects across various spatial dimensions.

The Effects of Foreign Direct Investment on Green Technology Innovation: New Evidence from China’s 278 Cities

ABSTRACT Foreign direct investment (FDI) has played a pivotal role in fostering economic development, and the FDI technology spillover effect is one of the core forces driving an open economy toward new green growth milestones. Evaluating the impact of FDI inflows on green innovation is essential for sustainable and environment-friendly city design. Based on the panel data of 278 cities in China from 2010–2019, we conducted an empirical analysis to test the impact and mechanisms of FDI on green technology innovation (GTI). The results demonstrate that FDI has a positive and highly significant effect on GTI. The channel analysis indicates that the FDI significantly stimulates urban GTI through two mechanisms: alleviating financing restraints and mitigating the risk of new GTI in the early stages. In the heterogeneity analysis, we find that the FDI effect is more pronounced in China’s resource-based regions with high levels of institutional and human capital and in regions with low-carbon pilot policies and good protection of intellectual property rights. Furthermore, the study shows FDI can affect GTI in neighboring areas through spatial spillover effects. Our findings underscore the importance of encouraging and sustaining internationalization in environmentally friendly sectors to foster green transformation. In essence, developing foreign investment policies and enhancing the green technology spillover effect of FDI are vital for strengthening GTI capacity.

Do multinational enterprises’ overseas investment activities promote their green transition performance? Evidence from Chinese listed companies

Enterprises, including multinational ones, play a crucial role in harmonizing economic growth with environmental conservation through green transition efforts. Based on a panel dataset of 1,916 publicly listed Chinese companies, this study investigates how overseas investment activities conducted by multinational enterprises (MNEs) influence their green transition performance. We find that the increase in overseas investment significantly contributes to MNEs’ transition toward greener practices, with this positive effect being particularly pronounced in greenfield investments. Mechanism analysis suggests that overseas investment benefits the green transition performance of MNEs through competitive effects, economies of scale, and profit feedback from overseas subsidiaries. Moreover, reverse technology spillovers derived from overseas investments are effective in promoting MNEs’ greening, an effect amplified when MNEs possess a higher technology absorptive capacity or operate in flexible intellectual property protection.

Foreign Investment in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations: Opportunities, Challenges and Prospects

African countries remain stubbornly plagued by fragility and conflict-affected conditions. Out of thirty-seven countries categorized as fragile and conflict-affected states, African countries are nineteen in number representing about 51% of the total states. The remaining African countries that are excluded in this list do not fare better in institutional and social fragility index, nor are they delivering enduring peace and sustainable development to their populace. The African Union (AU)’s approval of the Phase II of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) constitutes a pragmatic approach to use investment framework to change the climate of fragility and conflict. Foreign investment presents a veritable opportunity to turn the fragile and conflict-affected African states into a hub of peace and development. The increase in international investment brings with it the spillover of skills, know-how and technology into the host state. Additionally, foreign investment increases employment and revenue generation, diversification and improvement in the quality of products and services, and overall improvement in the standard of living. Equitable and inclusive sharing of revenues from natural resources similarly promotes societal cohesion and limits the triggers of institutional fragility. Consequently, this paper seeks to explore the modalities for the use of foreign investment as a pathway to inclusive development in African countries plagued by fragility and conflict.

Fostering green technology innovation with green credit: Evidence from spatial quantile approach

Green technology is an important path to achieve low-carbon development, and green credit provides financial support for green technology innovation. Existing literature often fails to pay attention to the important role of spatial factors and outliers in green technology innovation. Based on 2005–2022 provincial panel data in China, this paper uses a novel spatial lag quantile model to explore the impact of green credit on green technology innovation and its impact mechanism. The empirical results indicate that green credit exerts a greater positive impact on green technology in the provinces with moderate technical level. Technological innovation has the characteristic of spatial spillover. The spatial spillover of technology contributes more to green technology innovation in the provinces with low- and medium-tech level. This result has been proven even after robustness test of the changes in sample units, and the replacement of core variable values. Further mechanistic analysis demonstrates that banking market structure and enterprise R&D investment both produces the greater impact on green technology innovation in the low-tech provinces such as Qinghai, Ningxia, and Hainan. This article provides policy reference for local governments to formulate green finance policies and promote carbon neutrality strategies.

Impact of geopolitical risk on green international technology spillovers: FDI and import channels

This study investigates the impact of geopolitical risk (GPR) on green international technology spillovers through foreign direct investment (FDI) and import channels. The research aims to understand how GPR influences the transfer of green technologies, which are crucial for sustainable development, particularly in developing countries. Utilizing data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2003 to 2019, our findings indicate that increased GPR significantly hinders green technology spillovers through both FDI and imports. Additionally, the research demonstrates that advancements in local green technology levels (GTL), marketization (Mark), and intellectual property rights protection (IPRP) can mitigate the adverse effects of GPR. These results underscore the critical importance of political stability and robust internal mechanisms in promoting international technological exchanges. This study contributes to the literature on the intersection of political risks and technological advancement and provides actionable insights for policymakers to enhance resilience against geopolitical uncertainties, thereby fostering sustainable economic development.

The impact of FDI on R&D investment of small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam: The role of institutions

This paper investigates how the quality of the local institutional environment affects the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on R&D investment of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam. By analysing data of 2690 manufacturing SMEs in 2011, 2013 and 2015, we find that FDI presence hinders R&D activities of domestic SMEs, probably due to SMEs' low absorptive capacity, large technological gap, lack of economies of scale and low market power. However, institutions positively moderate the relationship, that is better institutions mitigate the negative impacts of FDI on R&D investment of domestic SMEs. When the quality of local institutions improves beyond a certain minimum level, FDI exerts positive spillovers that encourage R&D activities of domestic SMEs. Our hypothesis suggests that institutions can moderate FDI spillovers to SMEs' R&D by promoting the foreign investors' incentive and ability to create technological spillovers, mitigating FDI crowding-out effects, enhancing domestic SMEs' absorptive capacity, and facilitating interaction and knowledge sharing in the local business environment. We also find that the institutional moderating effect is less pronounced for FDI originating from countries with lower institutional quality compared to that from countries with higher institutional quality. This suggests that multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the former group may be more susceptible to institutional impacts due to their unfamiliarity with institutional obstacles in the host economy. Our study highlights the importance of institutions to researchers who explore the relationship between FDI and domestic firms’ R&D investment and to policymakers in emerging economies where FDI inflows and domestic SMEs play a pivotal role.

ICT diffusion, E-governance, and sustainability in the digital era

This study analyses the impact of information and communications technology (ICT) diffusion and e-governance on sustainability in 148 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries. It considers control variables such as institutional quality, urbanization, research and development (R&D), and the COVID-19 effect as dummy variables. Two step-generalised method of moments analysis of a panel dataset of 148 BRI partner countries from 2013 to 2021 reveals that ICT diffusion and e-governance benefit sustainability, with R&D and institutional quality also making positive contributions, while urbanization and the pandemic negatively impact sustainability. The findings were validated through D-K regression checks and support the technology spill-over effect, innovation, triple bottom line, endogenous growth, and stakeholder theories. They highlight the significance of investing in ICT infrastructure and digital literacy programs, improving institutional reforms and governance practices, putting sustainable urban planning into practice, and supporting R&D projects to advance sustainability in BRI partner nations. This study clarifies the potential problems brought forth by the pandemic and makes suggestions for reducing its negative effects on sustainability. It contributes to evidence-based decision-making, guiding sustainable practices in BRI partner nations.

ASEAN Four’s middle income trap dilemma: evidence of the middle technology trap

In Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are defined by the World Bank as countries that failed to overcome the "middle income trap". The four Southeast Asian countries (hereinafter referred to as the "ASEAN Four") entered the ranks of middle-income economies in the late 1970s and early 1980s and achieved rapid economic development throughout the 1980s and 1990s. However, since the early 2000s, the competitive advantages of these countries’ labor-intensive industries have started to decline, while the process of industrial transformation and technological improvement has been stagnated due to the lack of innovation resources. With limited R&D input and insufficient indigenous tech innovation, these countries’ manufacturing industry show a trend of "deindustrialization" and the "middle technology trap" phenomenon emerged. As the manufacturing sector failed to generate value-added that promotes economic growth and national income increase, ASEAN Four have so far yet to enter the high-income ranks. Drawing from the cases of ASEAN Four, this paper argues that the "middle technology trap" is a key contributing factor to the “middle income trap,” and countries fallen into the “middle income trap” often experience the "middle technology trap" as a concomitant phenomenon. The paper first introduces the industrialization process of ASEAN Four while analyzes the challenges they faced in industrial structural transformation and technology advancement. It then discusses major reasons that these countries failed to step over both the "middle technology trap" and the “middle income trap”, including limited technology spillovers from FDI, R&D investment shortages and insufficient industrial policies, low-quality education system, deficient intellectual property protection and underdeveloped regional capital markets. The paper concludes with some implications for China and discussion on potential future research on distinctions of the “middle technology trap” phenomenon between upper middle-income and lower middle-income countries.

The value of national defense: Assessing public preferences for defense policy options

Defense spending accounts for a large share of the budget in many countries, but the value of the resulting public good – national defense – has so far escaped assessment. Much of the literature has instead considered indirect benefits of defense spending in terms of greater economic growth or technological spillovers. In this paper, we assess the direct welfare effects of defense policy, namely an increase in the security of citizens, by means of a survey-based discrete choice experiment. Drawing on a representative sample of the German population, results suggest substantial willingness to pay for an increase in troop numbers, the establishment of a European army and an improved air defense system. The reintroduction of compulsory military service does not enjoy public support. Results further indicate substantial preference heterogeneity across respondents and policy options which we explore. As such, these findings demonstrate how methods of survey-based, non-market valuation can help to refine research in this area of public policy.

Buyer-Supplier Networks and Innovation: The Role of Technological Knowledge Spillovers

Buyer-Supplier Networks and Innovation: The Role of Technological Knowledge Spillovers

The Relationship Between Human Development Indicators and Technology Spillover with Environmental Quality: Evidence from Panel ARDL Model for D8 Countries

The Relationship Between Human Development Indicators and Technology Spillover with Environmental Quality: Evidence from Panel ARDL Model for D8 Countries

Can carbon emission trading policy enhance the synergistic emission reduction of carbon dioxide and air pollutants? A comparative study considering different pollutants

Exploring the synergistic control of carbon dioxide and pollutants is significant to the dual carbon target. This study first evaluates the effect of CET on the synergistic emission reduction of carbon dioxide and different pollutants. Moreover, this study investigates the mechanisms of synergistic emission reduction through the pathways of technology progress and structure adjustment. Technology progress is categorized into technology research and development, technology introduction, reverse technology spillover and technology purchase. Structure adjustment contains industrial structure and energy structure. Finally, the impact of CET on the synergistic emission reduction in the surrounding regions is analyzed. The results indicate that the CET could promote the synergistic emission reduction of carbon dioxide and pollutants, including air pollutants (SO2, PM2.5), wastewater and solid waste. The synergistic emission reduction of CO2 and SO2 could be enhanced through reverse technology spillover, technology purchase and industrial structure adjustment. The synergistic emission reduction of CO2 and PM2.5 could be enhanced through R&D and reverse technology spillover. The synergistic emission reduction of carbon dioxide and ammonia nitrogen could be enhanced by increasing R&D, technology purchase and energy structure adjustment. The CET could improve the synergistic emission reduction effect of carbon dioxide and air pollutants in the surrounding regions.

Impact of the Belt and Road initiative on enterprise green transformation

The Belt and Road initiative (BRI) has created a peaceful and stable surrounding environment for green transformation of enterprises. The data from Chinese listed enterprises from 2010 to 2022 were used, this article overcomes the limitations of the traditional causal inference model, and uses the dual machine learning model to explore the influence of the BRI on enterprises green transformation. Study shows that the BRI can greatly boost enterprises green transformation, and multiple robustness tests have verified its rationality. The mechanism test reveals that BRI promotes green transformation through three channels: promoting green technology spillovers, optimizing enterprise resource allocation and enhancing green governance capabilities. The BRI contributes more to fostering the green transformation of private enterprises, non-high polluting enterprises and large-scale enterprises according to heterogeneity tests. Further analysis found that the BRI had no obvious impact on enterprise performance, and it promoted enterprises to fulfill their ESG responsibilities.

Advancing Global Research Equity: Strengthening Scientific Output in Middle-Income Economies

The developments in science and technology have gone through several milestones in society and can be traced back to the 1700s: The first industrial revolution during which the biggest changes came in industries in the form of mechanization marked by inventions such as the steam engine; the second industrial revolution during which the emergence of new sources of energy—electricity, gas, and oil took place leading to inventions such as the internal combustion engine; the third industrial revolution which saw the rise in electronics, telecommunications and computers, opening the doors to space expeditions and research creating an era of a high level of automation and, the fourth industrial revolution, a phase that we are currently going through is an Internet-based world of virtual reality, in which the boundaries of the physical, digital and the biological worlds overlap. Our society has become a part of these evolutionary phases and as scientists, we have been sharing the advancement of knowledge during our formal teaching and creating new knowledge through research at universities and other research organizations. Along with teaching and research, stakeholder awareness as well as identification and implementation of appropriate policy changes in Science & Technology are key in contributing to economic and social progression. The process of transforming scientific research outcomes into viable technologies and innovative solutions is complex and necessitates dedicated focus. Increasing sociopolitical pressure directs us to translate our research into products and services. However, it is well known that not all knowledge generated through research leads to innovations. Nevertheless, for the basis for innovations to be formed, a strong culture of research is required. Although our findings through applied research should be effectively translated and commercialized where possible, fundamental research should not be forgotten but encouraged. It is the quest to find the fundamental particles by scientists at CERN, that led Sir Tim Berners-Lee, to create the Internet-based World Wide Web for information sharing, considered to be one of the greatest inventions of all time. The development and deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope, designed to probe the origins and evolution of the universe, has catalyzed a multitude of groundbreaking innovations. This endeavor has not only advanced our knowledge in astrophysics but also yielded significant technological spillovers, including novel materials and cutting-edge technologies with broad applications beneficial to society at large. The consistent dissemination of research findings in scholarly journals is an important aspect of a strong research culture. The research output of a country is often seen as an indicator of the economic advancement of a country. A study conducted recently by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics USA (https://ncses.nsf.gov), indicates a steady rise in the research output of every country, but a clear demarcation in the output levels between countries of high, middle and low-income economies as shown in the figure.

Belt and road initiative and export sophistication: The role of China’s outward foreign direct investment

We investigate the impact of China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) on the export sophistication of countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Through an examination of data spanning from 2010 to 2015, our findings reveal that China’s OFDI significantly enhances export sophistication in host countries, with a more pronounced effect observed in relatively poor BRI nations. However, the positive correlation between China’s OFDI and export sophistication diminishes in host countries characterized by elevated productivity levels. Utilizing a structural equation model, we identify host country productivity as a crucial mediating factor. The indirect technology spillover effects of China’s OFDI, facilitated through increased productivity, account for approximately 39% of their overall impact on export sophistication. Furthermore, we delineate threshold effects of productivity for China’s OFDI, demonstrating substantial positive effects in host countries with a GDP per capita below the first threshold (approximately US$1,141) or within the range of the first and second thresholds (around US$7,115). Upon consideration of these thresholds, distinctions in the effects of China’s OFDI between BRI and non-BRI host countries diminish. Our analysis underscores that the favorable influence of China’s OFDI extends beyond the BRI, providing benefits to low and middle-income countries globally.