Exploring Failed Green Innovation Policy: The Rise and Fall of Ethanol Cars in Sweden 2003–2015

Rickard Björnemalm () and Christian Sandström ()
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Rickard Björnemalm: Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering
Christian Sandström: Linnaeus University

A chapter in A Green Entrepreneurial State?, 2026, pp 113-130 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The literature on innovation policy has so far paid little attention to policy failure and the mechanisms leading to failure. We describe the Swedish bubble in ethanol cars 2003–2015 and explain why policy efforts failed. Ethanol was competitive in the political domain as the fuel was backed by the Center Party and the associated farmers’ lobby group, but lacked economic, technological, and environmental competitiveness. Our findings suggest that green innovation policies aimed at supporting new technologies against vested interests may instead end up extending established interests as policies are put in place under the influence of various stakeholders other than the common good.

Keywords: Ethanol cars; Green deals; Policy failure; Innovation; Technology; H50; L26; L52; O31; O38; P16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:inschp:978-3-032-15512-2_6

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-15512-2_6

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