The rise of mission-oriented state investment banks: the cases of Germany’s KfW and Brazil’s BNDES

This paper focuses on the rise of state investment banks (SIBs) as lead funders of missionoriented innovation in various countries’ agendas regarding smart (innovation led) growth, and not just fixers of ‘market failures’. The market failure justification for public finance fails to capture the active mission-oriented role that such banks are playing in shaping and creating markets, rather than just fixing them. In tackling innovation priorities and shaping new markets, these banks are developing new financial tools that also help to reform the financial system from within, addressing issues of short-termism and financialisation. This paper documents and analyses the roles of such banks, building on the Neo-Schumpeterian work on mission-oriented policies (that is, policies that aim to address societal issues or challenges). The paper presents a rich analytical description of mission-oriented investments in two of the leading SIBs: Brazil’s BNDES and Germany’s KfW. We discuss the directionality of the investments, the various tools used, and the lessons to be learned for evaluating these tools outside of a market failure framework

HOW COMPETITIVE IS PHOTOVOLTAIC ELECTRICITY

Over the last decade prices for residential grid-connected PV systems have decreased by 50 to 80% depeding on the local market conditions. Electricity production from residential photovoltaic solar systems has shown that it can be cheaper as residential electricity prices in a growing number of countries, depending on the actual electricity price and the local solar radiation level. The article shows how the financing costs for a PV system and the actual electricity price determine the economics of a unsubsidised PV system.JRC.F.7-Renewable Energ

Local governance of energy initiatives: struggles in assembling value

Local Authorities are increasingly expected to meet UK 2050 net zero climate goals. However, they struggle to assemble investment for local energy and carbon saving projects. In this thesis I examine how valuation devices that local authorities use to support decision making, shape the development of energy projects. I first develop a conceptual model bridging economic sociology of valuation and programmes of governing. I then use this model to examine valuation practices in local energy across 40 local authority case studies. I demonstrate that the value of local energy initiatives is not pre determined, but is assembled through processes of ‘value-in-the-making’. Local authorities are required to follow formal processes at key junctures in project development. I analyse three such formal valuation processes through my conceptual model: Best Value, the business case model and public procurement. Although governments advise that all three valuation processes provide a balanced evaluation of local investment options, in practice this proves more difficult to achieve, at least for energy projects. I found that energy projects were subjected to diverse processes of economisation which marginalised social value and public goods. It was during the application of these formal valuation devices that the parameters of value shifted. Each device was customised to circumstances and susceptible to different interpretations by officers from across the council throughout project development. This sometimes opens up discrete spheres of influence. Thus, interpretative flexibility, negotiation and contestation ultimately shape the success, scale and scope of energy initiatives. I conclude that the current structures governing valuation practices in local authority energy projects constrains their systematic contribution to a clean energy society

Between hope, hype, and hell: electric mobility and the interplay of fear and desire in sustainability transitions

Conceptualizations and articulations of ‘the future’ play a persistent and important role in discussions about technology adoption and the broader domain of sustainability transitions. The Sociology of Expectations, part of the transitions and science and technology studies literature, specifically focusses on the performative role that desirable expectations play in the development and marketing of a technology. In this paper we argue that these insights can be coupled with the performative role of undesirable futures, as outlined by Critical Security Studies. Based on a qualitative diffractive reading of these twin literatures we argue that the performativity around desired and undesired futures, while closely related, constitutes two separate logics. A focus on expectations alone does not explain the initiation and subsequent success of a sustainable innovation nor that a focus on undesired futures fully explains the acceptance of security claims. The paper exemplifies these insights with a reflection on electric vehicle development

Revolutionising how we think about infrastructure

We need broad-scale revolutionary, rather than evolutionary, change if all seven billionpeople on the planet now, and those who follow us, are to have the opportunity to live well

Confronting Web3 Technology: Opportunities, Challenges and Community Formation

The emergence of blockchain technology created an entire industry of innovative new digital assets--or tokens--and diverse new fields of expertise founded on ideological aspirations of a new World Wide Web that reimagines digital value transfer through decentralization and disintermediation. Experimentation in the so-called Web3 industry produces rich new fields of ethnographic study revealing the experiences of diverse individuals navigating novel technological capabilities which give way to new avenues of identity formation, community building, and ecosystem creation. These exciting new endeavors come with difficult challenges threatening the realization of ambitious visions for digital futures. Ethnographic research conducted through discourse analysis, participant observation, and formal and informal interviewing identified three key challenges stemming from Web3 builder experiences creating ecosystems through token-economic design: the prevalence of scams impedes productive development and mainstream perception, tokenomics--the design and study of token-based economies forming the much of the Web3 industry--is highly complex and under-developed as a field lacking sufficient expertise to meet demand, and regulatory uncertainty prohibitively raises costs and risk for builders. As the industry continues to grow more social science research and interest is needed to shed light on human experiences with these novel technologies

Cybersecurity

The Internet has given rise to new opportunities for the public sector to improve efficiency and better serve constituents in the form of e-government. But with a rapidly growing user base globally and an increasing reliance on the Internet, digital tools are also exposing the public sector to new risks. An accessible primer, Cybersecurity: Public Sector Threats and Responses focuses on the convergence of globalization, connectivity, and the migration of public sector functions online. It identifies the challenges you need to be aware of and examines emerging trends and strategies from around the world. Offering practical guidance for addressing contemporary risks, the book is organized into three sections: Global Trends—considers international e-government trends, includes case studies of common cyber threats and presents efforts of the premier global institution in the field National and Local Policy Approaches—examines the current policy environment in the United States and Europe and illustrates challenges at all levels of government Practical Considerations—explains how to prepare for cyber attacks, including an overview of relevant U.S. Federal cyber incident response policies, an organizational framework for assessing risk, and emerging trends Also suitable for classroom use, this book will help you understand the threats facing your organization and the issues to consider when thinking about cybersecurity from a policy perspective

Bureaucracy vs. efficiency: how does bureaucracy impact the access to European funds: European funds and the portuguese Geos-economic asymmetrie

Firstly, by using GIS software to map where the companies that had access to funds are and analyzing their perception of bureaucracy in the cases where they were unsuccessful on their applications. Additionally, analyzing the existing literature to understand the depth of the economic asymmetries in the territory, this paper discusses how policymaking can help Portugal become more geo-economically balanced. The findings show that funds within the sample are evenly distributed across the territory but that regional asymmetries are still dividing the country even with the positive impact of the EU funds on Portuguese companies. Keywords: Bureaucracy, Public Administration, Efficiency, SMEs, EU Fun