Flip side of the pollution haven: Do export destinations matter?

This paper looks at a reverse side of the pollution haven argument by answering a question on whether environmental regulations of the destination, rather than source countries play a role. The study utilises a firm-level dataset with aggregate export destinations of Europe and rest of the world (ROW) to establish whether a firm adjusts its energy use in response to a decision to start exporting to a more (Europe) or a less (ROW) regulated destination. Although on average, no energy adjustments are found for these destinations, focusing on the most polluting industries or the most energy-intensive firms reveals that firms' decision to start exporting to Europe brings about significant energy improvements, unlike a decision to start exporting to the ROW. Further estimations suggest that no adjustments found for firms exporting to the ROW are consistent with exporting to non-OECD region

Home green home; a case study of inducing energy-efficient innovations in the Dutch building sector

This document provides a case study of policies aiming to foster technological innovations for ‘green’ buildings in the Netherlands. The study aims to provide 1) a detailed overview of the policy framework over the last thirty years, and 2) a picture of the level of innovations related to energy efficiency in buildings in the Netherlands. �The analysis shows an intensification of environmental policy in the Dutch building sector in the mid-1990s, followed by a slight decline after 2001. A striking feature of environmental policy in this sector is the large number of policy programs implemented successively for short periods of time. This might affect the stability and continuity of the policy framework and be damaging for innovation. Faced with high levels of uncertainty about future policies, firms may prefer to postpone risky investments in innovative activities. Finally, governmental R&D support for green innovations in general remains very low in the Netherlands. Descriptive data on patenting activities show that Dutch firms file nowadays about 150 patents annually in the field of energy efficiency in buildings. The Netherlands have a clear comparative advantage in the field of energy-saving lighting technologies, mainly due to intensive patenting activities by Philips. High-efficiency boilers also represent a substantial share of Dutch innovation activities in this domain over the last decades. In many other fields (such as insulation, heat-pumps and co-generation, solar boilers, etc), however, Germany, Austria and Scandinavian countries rank much higher than the Netherlands.

Is there an environmental benefit to being an exporter? Evidence from firm level data

One of the greatest concerns over globalisation is its impact on the environment. This paper contributes to this debate by analysing the consequences of becoming an exporter on a firm's energy consumption. We show both theoretically and empirically that for low fuel intensity firms exporting status is associated with higher fuel consumption while for high fuel intensity firms exporting is results in decreased fuel consumption. Further analysis reveals that higher fuel consumption of low fuel intensity firms occurs after exporting, perhaps as a response to increased production. In contrast, firms using relatively large quantities of fuel decrease their energy use after exporting, perhaps by adopting more fuel-efficient technology. These results indicate that the use of aggregate data, as is the case in almost all studies of trade and the environment, is likely to conceal important connections between the two.Exporting, Energy, Heterogeneity, Quantiles, Matching

Flip Side of the Pollution Haven: Do Export Destinations Matter?

This paper looks at a reverse side of the pollution haven argument by answering a question on whether environmental regulations of the destination, rather than source countries play a role. The study utilises a firm-level dataset with aggregate export destinations of Europe and rest of the world (ROW) to establish whether a firm adjusts its energy use in response to a decision to start exporting to a more (Europe) or a less (ROW) regulated destination. Although on average, no energy adjustments are found for these destinations, focusing on the most polluting industries or the most energy-intensive firms reveals that fi rms' decision to start exporting to Europe brings about signi ficant energy improvements, unlike a decision to start exporting to the ROW. Further estimations suggest that no adjustments found for firms exporting to the ROW are consistent with exporting to non-OECD region

Flip Side of the Pollution Haven: Do Export Destinations Matter?

This paper looks at a reverse side of the pollution haven argument by answering a question on whether environmental regulations of the destination, rather than source countries play a role. The study utilises a firm-level dataset with aggregate export destinations of Europe and rest of the world (ROW) to establish whether a firm adjusts its energy use in response to a decision to start exporting to a more (Europe) or a less (ROW) regulated destination. Although on average, no energy adjustments are found for these destinations, focusing on the most polluting industries or the most energy-intensive firms reveals that firms' decision to start exporting to Europe brings about significant energy improvements, unlike a decision to start exporting to the ROW. Further estimations suggest that no adjustments found for firms exporting to the ROW are consistent with exporting to non-OECD region.Export destinations, Energy, Firm level, Regulations

Is there a trade-off between 'dirty' imports and 'clean' innovation? *

Abstract We examine the impact of trade with lower-regulated countries on firms' propensity to engage in 'clean' innovation using a newly constructed data set that combines firm-level international trade data with self-reported innovation data for around 400 Irish companies. We find robust evidence that a higher share of 'dirty' imports from BRIC countries significantly decreases firms' propensity to innovate in 'clean' technologies. A one standard deviation increase in the import share of 'dirty' products decreases firms' propensity to introduce an environmental innovation by up to 8 percentage points. This suggests that importing companies are less likely to respond to environmental policies by developing 'clean' technologies. This also means that carbon leakage may not only affect jobs and emissions in the short run, it also affects long-run competitiveness

Stimulating energy-efficient innovations in the Dutch building sector: Empirical evidence from patent counts and policy lessons

In the Netherlands where the building sector accounts for 33% of carbon emissions, the government aims to halve the total energy use from buildings by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. To this end, the Dutch government has set specific goals in order to foster technological innovation related to energy efficiency in buildings. The objective of this paper is to explore the links between technological innovation and public policies in this sector over the last 30 years. The paper aims (1) to measure the evolution of innovations related to energy efficiency in buildings in the Netherlands using patent counts and (2) to provide a historical overview of the policy framework. Descriptive data on patenting activities show that the Netherlands have a clear comparative advantage in the field of energy-saving lighting technologies, mainly due to intensive patenting activities by Philips. High-efficiency boilers also represent a substantial share of Dutch innovation activities in this domain over the last decades. In many other fields (such as insulation, heat-pumps and cogeneration, solar boilers, etc.), however, Germany, Austria and Scandinavian countries rank much higher than the Netherlands. The descriptive analysis of Dutch energy policy shows an intensification of energy policy in the mid-1990s, followed by a slight decline after 2001. Overall, the simultaneous introduction of policy instruments makes it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of policies. Also, the policy framework is characterized by the introduction of a large number of short-lived policy instruments and frequent policy changes. The lack of stability and continuity of energy policy may be damaging for innovation.Innovations Buildings Energy policy

Is there an environmental benefit to being an exporter? Evidence from firm level data

One of the greatest concerns over globalisation is its impact on the environment. This paper contributes to this debate by analysing the consequences of becoming an exporter on a firm's energy consumption. We show both theoretically and empirically that for low fuel intensity firms exporting status is associated with higher fuel consumption while for high fuel intensity firms exporting is results in decreased fuel consumption. Further analysis reveals that higher fuel consumption of low fuel intensity firms occurs after exporting, perhaps as a response to increased production. In contrast, firms using relatively large quantities of fuel decrease their energy use after exporting, perhaps by adopting more fuel-effcient technology. These results indicate that the use of aggregate data, as is the case in almost all studies of trade and the environment, is likely to conceal important connections between the two.Not applicabl

Non-invasive topical drug delivery to spinal cord with carboxyl-modified trifunctional copolymer of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide

In this study the effect of oxidative modification on micellar and drug deliveryproperties of copolymers of ethylene oxide (EO) and propylene oxide (PO) wasinvestigated. Carboxylated trifunctional copolymers were synthesized in the reaction withchromium oxide (VI). We found that carboxylation significantly improved the uniformityand stability of polymeric micelles by inhibiting the microphase transition. Thecytotoxicity of copolymers was studied in relation to their aggregative state on two celltypes (cancer line vs. primary fibroblasts). The accumulation of rhodamine 123 inneuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells was dramatically increased in the presence of the oxidizedblock copolymer with the number of PO and EO units of 83.5 and 24.2, respectively. Thecopolymer was also tested as an enhancer for topical drug delivery to the spinal cordwhen applied subdurally. The oxidized copolymer facilitated the penetration ofrhodamine 123 across spinal cord tissues and increased its intraspinal accumulation.These results show the potential of using oxidized EO/PO based polymers for noninvasivedelivery of protective drugs after spinal cord injury