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on Innovation |
| By: | Georgios Tsiachtsiras (White Research SRL, Belgium.); Sergio Petralia (Department of Economic Geography, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.); Ernest Miguelez (AQR-IREA, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.); Rosina Moreno (AQR-IREA, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.) |
| Abstract: | This article studies how anti-scientific sentiment can shape the direction of technological change, focusing on the tensions between the Catholic Church and the French Republic in late nineteenth-century France. We construct a novel geo-referenced database of French patents filed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (1838-1960) and combine it with historical measures of religiosity at the departmental level. We find that areas with higher shares of refractory clergy, those who refused to swear allegiance to the revolutionary state, produced significantly fewer electrical patents between 1890 and 1914. Crucially, this negative relationship does not extend to other technological fields or to overall patenting activity. Neither education nor migration explains this pattern. We also show that early electrical patenting predicts later activity in computer and communication technologies, consistent with path-dependent technological development. These findings suggest that conservative institutional environments did not suppress innovation broadly, but selectively discouraged disruptive technologies that challenged established norms, with consequences that persisted for decades. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; Patent Data; Religion; Path-dependence; Technological Change. JEL classification: L92; N73; O31; O33; P25. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:202606 |
| By: | Kivimaa, Paula; Janssen, Matthijs; Edler, Jakob |
| Abstract: | Increasing rise of military and non-military security issues, globally, influences innovation policies and interacts with policy aspirations to address societal challenges, notably around sustainability transitions. Drawing from research on security, geopolitics, and transformative and mission-oriented innovation policy, we map out what an increased focus on security means for challenge-led innovation policymaking. The analysis is structured around five policy imperatives: directionality, experimentation, inclusivity, regime destabilisation, and policy mix adaptation. Some clear synergies exist between sustainability and security, e.g., directing innovation support towards technologies that reduce supply chain dependencies, or dual-use technologies that improve resource efficiency and defence capability. Tensions also exist, e.g. security-risks of smart 'clean' technologies, or making innovation processes more closed for security reasons. Three broad policy strategies to govern the interrelations between security and sustainability objectives in innovation policy are proposed. The contribution raises awareness and provides nuance regarding ways the rising security concerns influence challenge-led innovation policy. |
| Keywords: | sustainability transistions, security, innovation policy |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisidp:338081 |
| By: | Sandra Baquie; Yueling Huang; Ms. Florence Jaumotte; Jaden Kim; Rafael Machado Parente; Samuel Pienknagura |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a global empirical analysis of how industrial policies (IPs) affect patent applications, with an instrumental-variable strategy that addresses selection in policy targeting by leveraging retaliatory dynamics. On average, IPs do not increase domestic patent applications over a four-year period, except when they target sectors with potential distortions or externalities, such as infant industries or low-carbon technologies. However, IPs temporarily boost foreign patent filings within the same timeframe, consistent with strategic front-loading by foreign inventors seeking to secure technology protection, and perhaps market access, in the IP-targeted sector. This link between foreign patent applications and IPs is stronger for export-oriented policies compared to domestic subsidies, for IPs targeting innovation-central sectors, and in emerging markets and developing economies. |
| Keywords: | Industrial Policies; Innovation; Patents; Networks; Low-carbon technology |
| Date: | 2026–03–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2026/047 |
| By: | João Bento; Miguel Matos Torres; Hicham Nachit |
| Abstract: | We are exploring the interplay between inequality and foreign direct investment (FDI) and green technology innovation, an area that remains underexplored in international business (IB) research. This study examines how green technology innovation moderates the relationship between FDI, proxied by the performance and operational outcomes of majority-owned U.S. foreign affiliates, and income inequality, measured by the Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) database. We employ OECD patent data on green innovations to construct a panel dataset of 28 high-income OECD countries from 2000 to 2020. Using fixed-effects panel regressions and quantile models with bootstrapped inference, the results indicate that FDI has a significant inequality-reducing effect, and green innovation moderates this relationship, reducing income inequality. Firm investment, profitability, efficiency, and innovation interact with green innovation to reduce inequality, highlighting the role of MNEs in fostering equitable outcomes. These findings contribute to a better understanding of IB activity by unpacking the interdependent dynamics between firm performance and national competitiveness, offering policy insights to promote FDI and green innovation and mitigate inequality. |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lis:liswps:914 |
| By: | Cruz Romero, Roberto (Deutches Zentrum für Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung (DZHW)); Stahlschmidt, Stephan |
| Abstract: | This study reconstructs and characterises the science-policy nexus in the field of artificial intelligence research in Germany, examining the alignment between normative policy goals and empirical research outcomes. Adopting a narrative policy framework, the research investigates transition dynamics across policy, scholarly, and innovation levels, tracing the interconnectedness in stages of patents, papers, and publicly funded projects. The research employs a two-pronged empirical approach: 1) identifying German contributions to AI research through patent citations and bibliometric data, and 2) linking these outputs to the policy instances that funded and enabled them. This methodology reveals the complex pathways through which policy intentions translate into research outcomes, highlighting the mostly indirect nature of this relationship. Key findings emphasise significant challenges in data quality and availability, particularly in linking research outputs to higher-level policy dimensions. While the study successfully identifies German-affiliated papers through patent and bibliometric datasets, it uncovers fundamental disconnections between stated policy objectives and actual research trajectories. These dimensions are compounded by administrative bottlenecks, asynchronous implementation settings, and entangled funding periods. The study concludes that AI development is heavily influenced by geopolitical and strategic decisions extending beyond academia, and that academic research into AI is part of a larger narrative of policy and political design. The study offers a framework for assessing the nuances of science-policy pathways while acknowledging the limitations of fully characterising this nexus. The systematisation presented serves as a foundation for future research, emphasising the need for comprehensive and coherent data sources to evaluate the phases and connections within scholarly and policy narratives. |
| Date: | 2026–03–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:mtz4d_v1 |
| By: | Juan S. Mora-Sanguinetti (BANQUE DE FRANCE AND BANCO DE ESPAÑA); Cristina Peñasco (BANQUE DE FRANCE AND UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE); Rok Spruk (UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the impact of “green regulations” - i.e. those aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change and environmental externalities - on innovation, using a novel regulatory database covering the period 008-2022 for Spain. The database identifies regulations at both the national and regional levels through textual analysis. Employing a panel data approach, we assess how different types of environmental regulations - particularly those related to renewable energy - affect firm-level innovation activities. Our findings indicate that national-level green regulations have a positive effect on innovation, whereas regional-level regulations show mixed or negligible impacts. Importantly, the interaction between national and regional regulations, measuring the simultaneous production of legal texts at both levels, can foster innovation but at a reduced pace with respect to the sole production of regulation at the national level. Given the results for regional-level regulation, our findings provide evidence in favour of the hypothesis that regulatory fragmentation due to unequal, overlapping, inconsistent or conflicting procedure across jurisdictions may diminish these benefits. |
| Keywords: | green regulation, innovation, Porter hypothesis, renewable energy, business |
| JEL: | K32 Q5 O44 O13 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:2611 |
| By: | Océane Vernerey (LISA - Laboratoire « Lieux, Identités, eSpaces, Activités » (UMR CNRS 6240 LISA) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli [Université de Corse Pascal Paoli], LEDi - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dijon [Dijon] - UBE - Université Bourgogne Europe) |
| Abstract: | In this article, we re-examine the innovation process through the CDM model. Compared to the existing literature, this study offers several contributions. First, it relies on an unusually large dataset of 509, 033 firms from nine European countries – Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Spain, Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, and Slovakia – over the period 1998–2016. This extensive dataset allows us to explore cross-country heterogeneity, as well as potential temporal trends across multiple survey waves. Second, the paper provides a systematic and detailed review of the vast CDM literature, offering a structured synthesis of prior findings and highlighting the main areas where results diverge across studies. Third, methodologically, we compare three alternative estimation strategies, which enables us to evaluate the robustness of our findings and to identify potential sources of heterogeneity in estimated relationships. Across all specifications, we find that R&D investment has a positive effect on the share of new products in sales, which subsequently enhances firm performance. Promoting innovation can have a substantial impact on performance. However, the magnitudes of these effects vary depending on the country, the estimation method, and the treatment of potential biases. In some countries, innovation generates stronger positive spillover effects on firm performance, while others are more effective at transforming R&D into innovation but face challenges in converting this innovation into productivity gains. This implies, on the one hand, that public policies must be context-specific, and on the other hand, that the choice of estimation method and the treatment of potential biases can significantly affect the robustness and validity of the results. |
| Keywords: | Innovation process, CDM model, Methodological comparison |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05536446 |
| By: | Ufuk Akcigit; Craig A. Chikis; Emin Dinlersoz; Nathan Goldschlag |
| Abstract: | We construct a novel dataset linking academic publication records to U.S. Census employer–employee data to track 42, 000 AI researchers over two decades. We document systematic changes in the allocation of AI talent. Industry increasingly attracts younger and foreign-born researchers, while gender representation improves more in academia. The top 1% of publishing industry scientists now earn $1.5 million more annually than comparable academics, a fivefold increase since 2001. Rising wage premia coincide with greater sorting into large incumbent firms. Researchers who move to industry publish less but patent more, consistent with a shift from open science toward proprietary innovation. |
| JEL: | I23 J45 L33 O31 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34964 |
| By: | Océane Vernerey (LEDi - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dijon [Dijon] - UBE - Université Bourgogne Europe); Jimmy Lopez (UBE - Université Bourgogne Europe) |
| Abstract: | We investigate both the innovation and labor market effects of network sector regulation in a consistent framework. The estimated impact of regulation on the innovation process is based on the Community Innovation Survey and a system of equations modelling the firm's choice of R&D expenditure, propensity to innovate, and performance. We then examine the regulation and innovation impact on the labor market using the European Union Labor Force Survey. From a sample of 330, 604 firms and 8, 594, 055 individuals over the period 1998-2016 and five countries that have undergone important reforms (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain), we find a strong negative effect of network regulation on firms' performance and individuals' employment probability. According to our estimates, the overall impact of the reforms implemented would be an average increase in the employment probability of 12.8%, almost entirely explained by an increase in firms' performance. |
| Keywords: | Employment, Innovation, Regulation |
| Date: | 2026–01–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05536453 |
| By: | Ajay K. Agrawal; John McHale; Alexander Oettl |
| Abstract: | We explore the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the knowledge production function. We characterize AI as a tool, not for full automation but rather for augmentation through enhanced search over combinatorial spaces. This leads to increased scientific productivity. We decompose knowledge production into a multi-stage process to shed light on the "jagged frontier" of AI in science, revealing differential returns to different tools across domains (e.g., data-rich biology vs. anomaly-sparse physics) and workflow stages (e.g., strong design aids like AlphaFold vs. subtler question generation tools). We treat human judgment as indispensable for tasks involving abductive inference, contextual nuance, and trade-offs, particularly in data-sparse environments. Drawing on a task-based model that distinguishes "ordinary" from AI-expert scientists, we describe how exogenous improvements in AI yield nonlinear productivity gains amplified by the share of scientists that are AI-experts to underscore the role of AI complements like skills training and organizational design. |
| JEL: | I23 O14 O31 O33 O41 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34953 |
| By: | Robert J. R. Eliott; Gavin D. J. Harper; Viet Nguyen-Tien |
| Abstract: | Electric vehicles (EVs) are central to decarbonising road transport, a sector responsible for 23% of global energy-related emissions, and their adoption carries both economic and societal implications. This paper provides an economic review of EV transitions, synthesizing theory, stylized facts, and frontier empirical findings. We document three key observations: EV adoption has historically occurred in waves that stalled and revived; contemporary adoption is highly heterogeneous across countries; and the transition reshapes automotive sector activities and supply chains, increasing reliance on geographically concentrated critical minerals and generating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and political economy challenges. We then analyze the economic drivers of adoption, including total cost of ownership, network externalities, and complementary technologies such as charging infrastructure, grid integration, and digital innovations. Supply-side constraints, resource scarcity, and innovation dynamics are examined, highlighting how the EV platform interacts with broader technological and industrial systems. The analysis emphasizes the systemic, path-dependent, and platform nature of EV transitions and outlines policy-relevant insights for managing adoption, supply chains, and innovation. Finally, we identify avenues for future research, including the economics of end-of-life and used EVs, resilient supply chains, and the role of complementary technologies in accelerating low-carbon transitions. |
| Keywords: | Electric vehicles, critical materials, supply chains |
| Date: | 2026–03–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2164 |
| By: | Patrick Cohendet; Patrick Llerena |
| Abstract: | This chapter aims to address the paradoxical portrayal of entrepreneurs in the Schumpeterian tradition. While entrepreneurs are portrayed as key players in economic development in Schumpeter's early works, they essentially disappear in neo-Schumpeterian literature, where their role is replaced by 'routines' as the primary operational component of organizations. This chapter re-establishes the entrepreneur as a producer of ideas, as well as an initiator and orchestrator of creative destruction, by reintegrating what we consider to be the primary “function of entrepreneurship”: generating and proposing new ideas and introducing novelty into the economic system. From this perspective, we argue that ideas, viewed primarily as processes, are the essence of the Schumpeterian entrepreneur’s role at the core of the 'entrepreneurial function', which orchestrates the ideation process by attracting, mobilizing and aligning allies around their vision. This entrepreneurial function takes different forms — from the 'heroic' entrepreneur of early capitalism, to a more 'depersonalized, routinised and automated' entity within large organizations, and, more recently, to an orchestrator within an innovative ecosystem. |
| Keywords: | Schumpeter, Creativity, Ideas |
| JEL: | B15 L26 L21 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2026-05 |
| By: | Nuriye Melisa Bilgin; Ester Faia; Gianmarco Ottaviano |
| Abstract: | We examine how upstream firms' technology adoption affects the performance and adoption decisions of downstream partners. Using business-to-business data with administrative records on advanced technology adoption, we find gains in productivity, performance, adoption probabilities of firms connected to the adopter, relatively to those that are not. Identification combines staggered event studies, balanced panels of pre-existing relationships, and recentering methods to address expected exposure within the network. Gains vary along firm size, centrality, technology quality, but do not systematically increase with input exposure, suggesting that knowledge spillovers may induce organizational adjustments. Adoption by competitors is associated with short-run negative effects. |
| Keywords: | technology diffusion, adoption and propagation, firm networks, firm productivity, imported inputs |
| Date: | 2026–03–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2157 |