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on Technology and Industrial Dynamics |
| By: | Nelli, Linnea; Virgillito, Maria Enrica; Vivarelli, Marco |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to understand whether what has been labelled as "twin transition", at first as a policy flagship, endogenously emerges as a new technological trajectory stemming by the convergence of the green and digital technologies. Embracing an evolutionary approach to technology, we first identify the set of relevant technologies defined as "green", analyse their evolution in terms of dominant blocks within the green technologies and concurrences with digital technologies, drawing on 560, 720 granted patents by the US Patent Office from 1976 to 2024. Three dominant blocks emerge as relevant in defining the direction of innovative efforts, namely energy, transport and production processes. We assess the technological concentration and underlying complexity of the dominant blocks and construct counterfactual scenarios. We hardly find evidence of patterns of actual endogenous convergence of green and digital technologies in the period under analysis. On the whole, for the time being, the "twin transition" appears to be just a policy flagship, rather than an actual endogenous technological trajectory driving structural change. |
| Keywords: | Twin transition, policy flagship, technological trajectories |
| JEL: | O33 Q55 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1580 |
| By: | Jesse LaBelle (Northwestern University); Inmaculada Martinez-Zarzoso (Universitat Jaume I); Ana Maria Santacreu (FRB of St. Louis); Yoto Yotov (School of Economics, Drexel University) |
| Abstract: | We build a model of cross-border patent filing, technology diffusion, and development. Our theory delivers a ‘structural gravity’ equation for cross-border patent flows that disentangles the effects of technology diffusion from policy-driven changes in IPR protection. To test the model’s predictions, we compile the International Patent and Citations across Sectors (INPACT-S) database that tracks patents within and between countries and industries over time. The econometric analysis reveals that while policy efforts have effectively promoted cross-border patent flows, the surge in patents from developed (North) to developing (South) countries between 1995 and 2018 was primarily driven by increased technology diffusion. A numerical analysis shows these North-South flows benefited both regions but generated larger gains in the South, thus reducing global income inequality. |
| Keywords: | Cross-border Patents, Gravity, Technology Diffusion, Development, Policy. |
| JEL: | F63 O14 O33 O34 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drx:wpaper:202507 |
| By: | Flavio Calvino; Luca Fontanelli |
| Abstract: | This study explores how French firms use artificial intelligence, leveraging a uniquely detailed and representative dataset with information on the use of specific AI technologies and how AI systems are deployed across different business functions within firms, in 2020 and 2022. The use of AI is still rare, amounting to 6% of firms, and varies by technology, with sectors often specialising in specific technologies and functions. While most firms specialise in a single AI technology applied to a single business function, larger firms adopt multiple technologies for different purposes. Firms adopting AI technologies are generally larger - except for those using natural language-related AI - and tend to be more digitally intensive, though firms leveraging NLG and autonomous movement AI deviate from this pattern. Firm size appears a relevant driver of AI use in business functions requiring integration with tangible processes, while digital capabilities appear particularly relevant for AI applications in business functions more related to intangible ones. AI technologies widely differ in terms of technological interdependencies and applicability, with machine learning for data analysis, automation and data-driven decision making-related AI technologies resulting as being at the core of the AI paradigm. |
| Keywords: | Technology Diffusion, Artificial Intelligence, Business Function, ICT |
| Date: | 2025–04–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2025/13 |
| By: | Czarnitzki, Dirk; Lepers, Robin; Pellens, Maikel |
| Abstract: | The circular economy represents a systematic shift in production and consumption, aimed at extending the life cycle of products and materials while minimizing resource use and waste. Achieving the goals of the circular economy presents firms with the challenge of innovating new products, technologies, and business models, however. This paper explores the role of artificial intelligence as an enabler of circular economy innovations. Through an empirical analysis of the German Community Innovation Survey, we show that firms investing in artificial intelligence are more likely to introduce circular economy innovations than those that do not. Additionally, the results indicate that the use of artificial intelligence enhances firms' abilities to lower production externalities (for instance, reducing pollution) through these innovations. The findings of this paper underscore artificial intelligence's potential to accelerate the transition to the circular economy. |
| Keywords: | Circular economy, Innovation, Artificial intelligence |
| JEL: | Q55 O31 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:312577 |
| By: | Findeisen, Sebastian; Dauth, Wolfgang; Schlenker, Oliver |
| Abstract: | New technologies drive productivity growth, yet the distribution of gains may be unequal. We study how labor market institutions - specifically shop-floor worker representation - mediate the impact of automation. Combining German individual-level administrative records with plant-level data on industrial robot adoption, we find that works councils reduce the separation risk for incumbent workers during automation events. When labor markets are tight and replacement costs are high, incumbent workers become more valuable from the firm's perspective. Consequently, we document that the moderating effects of works councils diminish. Older workers, who face greater challenges reallocating to new employers, benefit the most from organized labor in terms of wages and employment. Finally, we observe that works councils do not hinder robot adoption; rather, they spur the use of higher-quality robots, encourage more worker training during robot adoption, and foster higher productivity growth thereafter. |
| Keywords: | automation, organized labor, work councils, labor market tightness, worker re-training |
| JEL: | J20 J30 J53 O33 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:315741 |
| By: | Julian Tiedtke |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of automation investments on employment dynamics and workforce composition using administrative data from Portugal. I exploit the lumpiness of automation imports in a difference-in-differences event study design. My results show that automation creates jobs in small firms but leads to job losses in larger ones. This pattern holds across a wide range of firm types, industries and types of automation technologies. Most importantly, automation favors low-educated, routine-blue-collar workers in routine-intensive jobs over highly skilled workers like STEM professionals. These findings challenge the view of automation as inherently skill-biased |
| Keywords: | Automation, Employment, Firm heterogeneity, Deskilling |
| Date: | 2025–04–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2025/09 |
| By: | Suelene Mascarini; Pierre-Alexandre Balland; Renato Garcia |
| Abstract: | This study examined the effects of intra-regional and transnational linkages on technological diversification in Brazilian regions from 1997 to 2020, highlighting the role of stakeholder collaboration in fostering knowledge and skill development. Our findings reveal that regional linkages positively influence diversification, whereas transnational connections primarily help to preserve existing technological specialisations. These results offer valuable insights for policymakers seeking to promote innovation and diversification in emerging economies, underscoring the importance of both regional and international collaborations for technological growth. This study investigates how intra-regional and transnational linkages affect technological diversification in Brazilian regions between 1997 and 2020. We focus on both the emergence of new technological specialisations and the persistence of existing ones. Using patent data from the Brazilian Patent Office and panel regression models with fixed effects, we examine how the structure of inter-regional and international connections relates to the dynamics of diversification. Our findings suggest that domestic regional linkages promote the entry of new specialisations, while transnational linkages are more closely associated with the retention of existing ones. These results offer insights for policymakers seeking to foster innovation in emerging economies by strengthening both regional networks and global connections. |
| Keywords: | transnational linkages; regional linkages; complementary capabilities; regional diversification. |
| JEL: | O19 O31 R11 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2509 |
| By: | Kraft, Kornelius; Rammer, Christian |
| Abstract: | Reverse engineering allows firms to learn about critical components and design features of competitors' technologies. Historically, reverse engineering has often been used to help technological laggards to catch-up and profit from other's inventions. However, through reverse engineering firms may also obtain knowledge that can be used for own innovation efforts beyond mere imitation, making it a relevant knowledge acquisition channel for technological leading firms in high-tech economies. Based on data from the German part of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS), this paper provides empirical evidence on the characteristics of firms that use reverse engineering, and whether reverse engineering can lead to superior innovation performance in terms of commercializing innovations with a high degree of novelty. Our results suggest that in the context of a high-tech economy, it is rather firms that operate under fierce price competition that use reverse engineering, helping them to obtain higher innovation output, though for innovations with a low degree of novelty. |
| Keywords: | Reverse engineering, knowledge spillovers, innovation output |
| JEL: | O31 O33 D83 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:313008 |
| By: | Piotr Lewandowski; Karol Madoń; Albert Park |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a task-adjusted, country-specific measure of workers’ exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) across 103 countries, covering approximately 86% of global employment. Building on the AI Occupational Exposure index by Felten et al. (2021), we map AI-related abilities to worker-level tasks using survey data from PIAAC, STEP, and CULS. We then predict occupational AI exposure in countries lacking survey data using a regression-based approach. Our findings show that accounting for within-occupation task differences significantly amplifies the development gradient in AI exposure. About 47% of cross-country variation is explained by differences in task content, particularly among high-skilled occupations. We attribute these differences primarily to cross-country differences in ICT use intensity, followed by human capital and globalisation-related firm characteristics. We also document rising AI exposure over the past decade, driven largely by changes in task composition. Our results highlight the central role of digital infrastructure and skill use in shaping global AI exposure. |
| Keywords: | tasks, AI, labor, technology, skills |
| JEL: | J21 J23 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ibt:wpaper:wp022025 |
| By: | Sanjit Dhami; Paolo Zeppini (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur) |
| Abstract: | We consider firms' choices between a clean technology that benefits, and a dirty technology that harms, the environment. Green firms are more suited to the clean technology and brown firms are more suited to the dirty technology. We use a model derived from complexity theory that takes account of true uncertainty and increasing returns to technology adoption. We examine theoretically, the properties of the long-run equilibrium, and provide simulated time paths of technology adoption, using plausible dynamics. The long-run outcome is an 'emergent property' of the system, and is unpredictable despite there being no external technological or preference shocks. We describe the role of taxes and subsidies in facilitating adoption of the clean technology; the conflict between optimal Pigouvian taxes and adoption of clean technologies; the optimal temporal profile of subsidies; and the desirability of an international fund to provide technology assistance to poorer countries. |
| Keywords: | Technology choice, Climate change, Complexity, Lock-in effects, Increasing returns, Green subsidies, Public policy, Pigouvian taxes, Stochastic dynamics |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04998831 |
| By: | Krieger, Bastian; Scrofani, Stefania; Strecke, Linus |
| Abstract: | We explore the association between signaling and conducting innovation collaborations with public research organizations and firms' revenues from firm and market novelties. Based on data from the German Community Innovation Survey 2023 and web-based indicators, firms conducting collaboration report higher revenues from market novelties, suggesting their relevance for the performance of more radical innovations. Firms signaling collaboration through website content report higher revenues from firm novelties, suggesting relevance for the performance of more incremental innovations. These findings indicate distinct mechanism in how collaborations with public research organizations relate to innovation performance. |
| Keywords: | University-Industry Transfer, Innovation Performance, Signaling |
| JEL: | O31 O36 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:312575 |
| By: | Deepali Gupta (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research); C. Veeramani (Centre for Development Studies) |
| Abstract: | Several studies show that countries increasingly participate in Global Value Chains (GVC) by specialising in intermediate goods. Theoretical fragmentation models sug gest that backward GVC participation has a double advantage for a low-skilled, labour abundant country like India. It increases employment, and it reduces wage inequality. This paper assesses the impact of backward GVC participation on employment, wages, and labour productivity of workers engaged in Indian organised manufacturing indus tries. We use plant-level data provided by the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) for 2008-09 till 2019-20. We find that GVC plants employ more workers and pay higher wages but find no significant differences in labour productivity. The share of female and contractual workers is not significantly different from non-GVC plants, but the share of production workers is slightly higher in GVC plants. We also find a lower wage gap between male and female workers; and contractual and non-contractual workers but a higher wage gap between production and non-production workers for GVC plants. |
| Keywords: | Global value chains, Backward GVC participation, Employment, Wage Inequality, India |
| JEL: | F14 F16 F66 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2025-005 |
| By: | MATSUURA Toshiyuki; SAITO Hisamitsu |
| Abstract: | Using Japanese plant product-level data, this study focuses on the impact of increasing import competition pressure on changes in product portfolios by examining product entry and exit. We also consider the role of R&D activities at the plant level. While previous research on the adjustment of product portfolios for multi-product firms has emphasized the narrowing of products to core products, we show that firms engaged in R&D activities actively replace existing products with new ones and expand into new business fields due to increased import competition. These results are consistent with those of several studies on the relationship between competition and innovation. We also find that these effects are more pronounced in regions with larger public R&D stocks and in high-tech sectors. |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25020 |
| By: | Emilio Colombo; Alessia De Santo; Francesco Trentini |
| Abstract: | Green jobs and skills are pivotal to global and European efforts toward an environmentally sustainable economy and climate neutrality. Understanding their characteristics is vital for designing policies that address workforce challenges during this transition. Existing literature often analyzes green jobs using occupations as a proxy, either categorizing entire occupations as green or assigning greenness scores based on tasks. This study extends the analysis by focusing on green skills, leveraging data from Eurostat’s Web Intelligence Hub on Online Job Advertisements (OJA). This dataset allows us to observe skill requirements at the job advertisement level, revealing heterogeneity within occupations. We analyze green OJAs—ads featuring at least one green skill—at the ISCO IV-digit level across 26 European countries (2019–2023). We find that green OJAs are linked to higher education requirements, higher wages, and lower experience demands. Additionally, introducing an occupation greenness score, we find that green OJAs in brown occupations (jobs with zero greenness) also command a wage premium. The granularity of our data allows us to provide evidence on the specificity of skill bundles for green occupations, differences in skill demand at the extensive and intensive margin, and complementarities between green skills and other skill types. More specifically green OJAs emphasize social, communication, and management skills. They also rely more on distinctive, specialized cognitive and manual skills. |
| JEL: | J21 J24 J63 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dis:wpaper:dis2503 |