Estimating the impact of investing in a resource efficient, resilient global energy-intensive manufacturing industry

Bassi, Andrea M.; Tan, Zhuohua; Mbi, Armstrong

doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2011.05.011

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The low R 2 in both estimations does not undermine the validity of the estimates, especially as the regressors' variability is very limited due to their binary nature (e.g., Dell et al 2012). These results are in line with evidence brought forward in the literature in terms of finding a positive relationship between material productivity and competitiveness (Fh-ISI et al 2005;Bleischwitz et al 2009b;Schmidt and Schneider 2010;Ecorys 2011;Schröter et al 2011;Bassi et al 2012;AMEC and Bio IS 2013). However, this analysis considers the dynamic effects between firms, sectors, and countries as well as addresses the endogeneity of material productivity improvements.…”

Section: Sls Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Empirical evidence on the costs channel is limited to case studies for firms (Fh-ISI et al 2005;Schröter et al 2011), sectors (Bassi et al 2012;AMEC and Bio IS 2013), or countries (Oakdene Hollins 2011). Only few studies take a more holistic approach, thus accounting for dynamic effects and heterogeneity across firms, sectors, and countries.…”

Section: Cost Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This assertion has gone hand-in-hand with substantial capital being directed into investment projects intending to improve material productivity. 1 The existing literature finds that material productivity positively affects competitiveness (and associated measures) while reducing environmental pressures (Fh-ISI et al 2005;Bleischwitz et al 2009b;Schmidt and Schneider 2010;Ecorys 2011;Schröter et al 2011;Bassi et al 2012;AMEC and Bio IS 2013;Cooper et al 2016;Gilbert et al 2016). However, such investigations have two main shortcomings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The causal impact of material productivity on microeconomic competitiveness and environmental performance in the European Union

Flachenecker

Kornejew

2018

Environ Econ Policy Stud

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Interdisciplinary scholars and policymakers in the European Union (EU) claim that increasing material productivity improves the competitiveness of firms. However, the current evidence base has two main shortcomings. First, most studies fail to provide evidence beyond case studies, thus not considering dynamic effects and heterogeneity across firms, sectors, and countries. Second, they do not adequately take the endogeneity of changes in material productivity into account. In this paper, we investigate data from the Community Innovation Survey comprising over 52,000 firms across 23 sectors and 12 EU member states. Moreover, we take an instrumental variable approach to account for endogeneity. Our findings provide evidence for a positive and causal effect of material productivity improvements on microeconomic competitiveness for those firms that received targeted public financial support to realise eco-innovations. The effect tends to be limited to firms in certain materialintensive sectors and countries. We further show that such increases in material productivity reduce the firms' carbon dioxide footprint, thus achieving both economic and environmental objectives. Therefore, our findings provide the important policy insight that tailoring the availability of public financial supports to sector and country specific circumstances and those eco-innovations that increase material productivity is most promising in reconciling competitiveness and climate change mitigation objectives.

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Section: Sls Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Cost Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The causal impact of material productivity on microeconomic competitiveness and environmental performance in the European Union

Flachenecker

Kornejew

2018

Environ Econ Policy Stud

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“…An investigation on the savings potential of increasing material efficiency in SMEs in Germany suggests that the average savings are in the order of 7-8% (Fh-ISI et al 2005;Schröter et al 2011). This positive link between material productivity and competitiveness is also reflected in related studies on energy efficiency (UNIDO 2011; EC 2014b), resource efficiency (Oakdene Hollins 2011;OECD 2011;Bassi et al 2012;AMEC and Bio IS 2013), and environmental efficiency (Sakamoto and Managi 2017). Material productivity is argued to improve the macroeconomic environment.…”

Section: The Problem Of Endogeneitymentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Bleischwitz et al 2007;Bleischwitz and Steger 2009;Schröter et al 2011;Bassi et al 2012) and relevant macroeconomic indicators (e.g. Distelkamp et al 2010;Walz 2011;Meyer et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

The causal impact of material productivity on macroeconomic competitiveness in the European Union

Flachenecker

2017

Environ Econ Policy Stud

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Interdisciplinary scholars and policy makers have claimed that increasing material productivity not only reduces environmental pressures but also improves the competitiveness of economies. This is particularly relevant in the context of the European Union (EU) since it motivates its resource efficiency and circular economy agenda by referring to this assertion. However, two limitations in the literature cast doubt on the validity of the claim. First, the literature fails to clarify the concept and measurement of macroeconomic competitiveness. Second, it lacks to take the endogeneity of material productivity into account. Addressing both shortcomings, this paper reviews the concept of macroeconomic competitiveness and identifies six conventional macroeconomic indicators to approximate it. Moreover, using panel data of the 28 member states of the EU between 2000 and 2014, the causal impact of material productivity on the six indicators is estimated, instrumenting material productivity with the number of deaths from natural hazards. The results provide evidence for a positive and causal impact of the material productivity rate on the wage rate and, with lower confidence, on the current account rate, while the remaining macroeconomic indicators are not significantly affected. Overall, these results suggest to be cautious with the claim that increasing material productivity improves macroeconomic competitiveness in the EU. Particularly the positive effect on the wage rate calls for considering possibilities to channel gains from increasing material productivity into eco-innovations to reduce the magnitude of potential rebound effects and thus environmental pressures.

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How does green digitalization affect environmental innovation? The moderating role of institutional forces

2022

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Environmental innovation is essential to achieving environmental and economic sustainability. This study aims to explain whether and under what conditions green digitalization may foster firm environmental innovation. Using a database of Chinese listed firms matched with provincial‐level digitalization information from 2012 to 2018, we find that green digitalization significantly increases environmental innovation, and this effect can be achieved through enhancing R&D investment. In addition, the positive effect of green digitalization on environmental innovation is moderated by formal and informal institutional forces. We establish government support (in the form of financial investment in building digital infrastructure), government intervention, and cyberculture as the theoretically important moderators. Our findings contribute to digitalization research, institutional theory, and the literature on environmental innovation and provide important practical implications for managers and policymakers seeking to improve environmental sustainability through digital transformation.

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Estimating the impact of investing in a resource efficient, resilient global energy-intensive manufacturing industry

Cited by 22 publications

References 16 publications

The causal impact of material productivity on microeconomic competitiveness and environmental performance in the European Union

The causal impact of material productivity on microeconomic competitiveness and environmental performance in the European Union

The causal impact of material productivity on macroeconomic competitiveness in the European Union

How does green digitalization affect environmental innovation? The moderating role of institutional forces

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