Bioenergy innovations and their determinants: a negative binominal count data analysis

The research employed a negative binominal count data model approach to analyse the determinants of bioenergy innovations with a special focus on the effect of energy and climate policies. A panel of 14 OECD countries were analysed using patent counts for the period 1978–2009 as a proxy for innovations. The policies examined were feed-in tariffs, quota obligations and different types of investment support schemes. The study found that feed-in tariffs affected innovation positively but quota obligations did not. The results regarding investment support programs were ambiguous since the dummy variable representing strong investment policies was statistically significant whereas the continuous variable for investment support schemes was not. Another finding was that electricity prices seemed to be an import-ant determinant of innovation and that the accumulated stock of knowledge in the bioenergy sector also had a positive impact on bioenergy innovation.