The governmental origins of American innovation in clean technologies

IF 9.2 2区经济学 Q1 ECONOMICS

Energy Policy Pub Date : 2025-05-26 DOI:10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114693

Nicolas Wittstock

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Abstract

Why is the US so productive in the invention of clean technology, despite relatively weak federal climate policy, deemed critical to provide incentives for related R&D investments? I argue that federal innovation policy actively pursued clean technology with renewed force since the early 2000s. Related policy has often been internal to federal agencies and not directly motivated by climate-related considerations. Concerns over energy security and demand for alternative energy technology by the Department of Defense (DoD) shifted federal R&D initiatives in favor of clean technologies in the early 2000s. The resulting initiatives have substantially impacted aggregate rates of invention in targeted technology classes. To make this case, I present a network analysis of over 140,000 patents and over 1.7 m patent citations, demonstrating that federal agencies have been the most important sources of invention within the US clean technology ecosystem since 2000. This study complicates the notion of the US as a climate policy laggard and demonstrates how state preferences over technology continue to shape the trajectory of innovation in the American political economy.

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美国清洁技术创新的政府起源

为什么在联邦气候政策相对薄弱的情况下，美国在清洁技术的发明方面如此多产，而清洁技术被认为是激励相关研发投资的关键？我认为，自本世纪初以来，联邦创新政策以新的力量积极追求清洁技术。相关政策通常是联邦机构内部制定的，与气候相关的考虑并不直接相关。21世纪初，美国国防部（DoD）对能源安全和替代能源技术需求的担忧使联邦研发计划转向支持清洁技术。由此产生的主动性极大地影响了目标技术类别的总发明率。为了证明这一点，我提出了一个超过140,000项专利和超过1.7 m专利引用的网络分析，表明自2000年以来，联邦机构一直是美国清洁技术生态系统中最重要的发明来源。这项研究使美国作为气候政策落后者的概念变得复杂，并展示了国家对技术的偏好如何继续塑造美国政治经济中的创新轨迹。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Energy Policy 管理科学-环境科学

CiteScore

17.30

自引率

5.60%

发文量

540

审稿时长

7.9 months

期刊介绍： Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute to climate change mitigation. The attributes of energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques. Energy policy is closely related to climate change policy because totalled worldwide the energy sector emits more greenhouse gas than other sectors.