What Drives the International Transfer of Climate Change Mitigation Technologies? Empirical Evidence from Patent Data

Antoine Dechezleprêtre (1) , Matthieu Glachant (2) , Yann Ménière (2)

1 Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
2 CERNA i3 - Centre d'économie industrielle i3

Article Abstract : Technology transfer plays a key role in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, we characterize the factors that promote or hinder the international diffusion of climate-friendly technologies using detailed patent data from 96 countries for the period 1995-2007. The data provide strong evidence that lax Intellectual Property regimes have a strong and negative impact on the international diffusion of patented knowledge. Restrictions on international trade and foreign direct investment also hinder the diffusion of climate-friendly technologies. Surprisingly, local technological capabilities tend to discourage transfers. While broad indicators of technology capabilities are expected to facilitate transfers, this latter result stems from our technology-specific definition of local capabilities, which makes it possible to capture a substitution effect between local and foreign inventions.
Working paper abstract: Using patent data from 66 countries for the period 1990-2003, we characterize the factors which promote or hinder the international diffusion of climate-friendly technologies on a global scale. Regression results show that technology-specific capabilities of the recipient countries are determinant factors. In contrast, the general level of education is less important. We also show that restrictions to international trade--e.g., high tariff rates--and to a lesser extent lax intellectual property regimes negatively influence the international diffusion of patented knowledge. A counter-intuitive result is that barriers to foreign direct investments can promote transfers. We discuss different possible interpretations.

Mots clés: climate change; technology diffusion; technology transfer

Domaines: Economies et finances

Antoine Dechezleprêtre, Matthieu Glachant, Yann Ménière. What Drives the International Transfer of Climate Change Mitigation Technologies? Empirical Evidence from Patent Data. Environmental and Resource Economics, 2013, 54 (2), pp.161-178. ⟨10.1007/s10640-012-9592-0⟩. ⟨hal-00488268⟩