THREE ESSAYS ON ECONOMIC INNOVATION IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

Abstract

My dissertation studies the impact of public policy and market forces on technological innovation in the energy sector, with a focus on both the United States and China. The first chapter investigates patent litigation risks in the U.S. energy sector, finding that patents with higher citation counts, those originating from small firms, and those with shorter examination periods are significantly more likely to be involved in legal disputes. These results shed light on how innovation characteristics influence legal vulnerability in a critical sector.The second chapter evaluates the effect of electric vehicle (EV) adoption policies on energy storage innovation in China. Using a novel firm-level patent database from 2000 to 2021, I find that subsidies for EV purchases alone have limited impact on stimulating innovation. However, when paired with infrastructure-oriented policies-such as investments in charging networks-the probability of energy storage patenting increases significantly. The third chapter examines the differential impacts of policy and market conditions on renewable and fossil fuel innovation among Chinese listed firms. Analyzing data from 2008 to 2020, I show that China's 2014 new energy demonstration city policy promoted renewable innovation, while rising electricity prices deterred fossil fuel innovation. The results emphasize the importance of well-targeted policies in directing technological change toward sustainability. Together, these chapters contribute to our understanding of how innovation systems respond to policy signals, legal risks, and market conditions, and offer implications for the design of future climate and energy policies.