Anatomy of Green Specialisation: Evidence from EU Production Data, 1995–2015

Filippo Bontadini () and Francesco Vona
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Filippo Bontadini: LUISS Guido Carli University

Environmental & Resource Economics, 2023, vol. 85, issue 3, No 5, 707-740

Abstract: Abstract We study green specialisation across EU countries and detailed 4-digit industrial sectors over the period of 1995–2015 by harmonizing product-level data (PRODCOM). We propose a new list of green goods that refines lists proposed by international organizations by excluding goods with double usage. Our analysis reveals important structural characteristics of green specialisation in the manufacturing sector. First, green production is highly concentrated, with 13 out of 119 4-digit industries, which are high-tech and account for nearly 95% of the total. Second, green and polluting productions do not occur in the same sectors, and countries specialise in either green or brown sectors. Third, our econometric analysis identifies three key features as relevant for green specialisation: (i) first-mover advantage and high persistence of green specialisation, (ii) complementarity with non-green capabilities and (iii) the degree of diversification of green capabilities.

Keywords: Green goods; Green specialisation; Environmental policy stringency; Complementarity; Path dependency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L60 O44 Q55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Working Paper: Anatomy of Green Specialisation: Evidence from EU Production Data, 1995-2015 (2022)
Working Paper: Anatomy of Green Specialisation: Evidence from EU Production Data, 1995-2015 (2022)
Working Paper: Anatomy of Green Specialization: Evidence from EU Production Data, 1995-2015 (2020)
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DOI: 10.1007/s10640-023-00781-7

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