Technological Innovation and Economic Growth

Dear Colleagues,

An increasing number of studies are available in the recent literature concerning a more efficient use of resources for a full achievement of economic sustainability and growth. From this perspective, the role of technological innovation is very important, but the relative empirical evidence is still weak. For this reason, this Special Issue will focus on the extent to which investments in cleaner production can stimulate economic growth in a more sustainable context.

Because innovation is one of the mechanisms through which countries deal with a changing environment, green innovation presents itself as an important tool to react to the increasing pressure and changing environment. The aim of this Special Issue is to further understand the relationship between knowledge source strategy and green innovation. This type of innovation represents a technological frontier with which economic agents are still inexperienced, and there are no accepted standards in terms of technological solutions and policy measures for evaluating environmental performance. Recent studies suggest that private firms develop insufficient innovation toward clean technologies, and that too much effort is devoted to polluting technologies. Indeed, there is path dependence: Firms that used innovative polluting technologies in the past also have higher economic incentives for using innovative polluting technologies in the future. An intervention of policymakers at the worldwide level has been important for breaking the path dependence effect by favoring cleaner technologies in terms of social optimum.

Theoretical and empirical contributions from innovation economics and environmental economics on economic growth and relative public policies are welcome in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Luigi Aldieri
Guest Editor

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