Capacità innovativa nazionale verde: i motori dell'innovazione ambientale nei paesi OCSE

Innovation has long been recognized as a main driver of economic growth, but more recently the challenges posed by the green transition have increased the interest in the role of innovation as a transformative force to tackle societal challenges. However, the factors that drive environmental innovation are not well understood, particularly at the national level. This thesis aims to addressing this gap in the literature by investigating the determinants of environmental innovation in OECD countries. It builds on two related streams of literature: On the one side the literature of National Systems on Innovation; and on the other, the literature on environmental innovation, both within the framework of evolutionary economics. It contributes to the literature by introducing the concept of “Green National Innovative Capacity”, understood as country’s potential to produce a steady stream of innovations in environmental-friendly technologies. Empirically, an econometric model is used to test the impact of the common innovation infrastructure; sectoral policies and the quality of governance in the production of environmental-related patents. It finds that there are significant differences in the green innovative capacity of OECD countries. The production of environmental technologies is concentrated mainly in 6 countries that account for more than half the production of green technologies in the OECD. The evidence suggests that sectoral policies (i.e. stringent environmental policy and investment in green R&D) have strong positive effects on the production of environmental technologies. The common innovation infrastructure (investment in R&D and higher education) also have a positive effect on green innovation, but their effect is nuanced by some elements of the National Innovation System that generate lock-ins and sunk costs that hinder innovation in green technologies. The evidence about the effect of the quality of governance, however, is very week and requires further research.