Financing the Adoption of Clean Technology
ONLINE ONLY
We analyze the adoption of clean technology by heterogeneous firms subject to financing constraints. We develop a model of investment with heterogeneous capital goods, which differ in their associated energy needs and in their age. We show that, in equilibrium, cleaner and newer capital requires a larger down payment. Therefore, financially constrained, smaller firms optimally invest in dirtier and older capital than
unconstrained, larger firms. The model is consistent with the empirical patterns of technology adoption we document using data on commercial shipping fleets. Larger firms operate with higher energy efficiency, by investing in cleaner new technologies and operating newer capital, which tends to be more energy efficient. This equilibrium pattern of technology adoption implies that environmental policy has important distributional consequences.
Date: 19 September 2023, 16:00 (Tuesday, -2nd week, Michaelmas 2023)
Venue: ONLINE https://zoom.us/j/94428672489?pwd=c3N3a1FTRUpQcDJaVld4Tll5ekRzUT09
Speaker: Andrea Lanteri (Duke University)
Organising department: Department of Economics
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Emma Heritage