Mer för mindre? Tillväxt och hållbarhet i Sverige

PublicationBook

Christian Sandström, Ekonomisk tillväxt, Hållbar utveckling, Jonas Grafström, klimat, Mer för mindre, miljö

Mer för mindre? – Pocket

Abstract

Går det att förena ekonomisk tillväxt med hållbar
utveckling? Den här boken beskriver hur miljöskadliga utsläpp och användningen av naturresurser i
Sverige har förändrats över tid.
Sedan 1990 har Sveriges befolkning ökat med drygt
1,6 miljoner och ekonomin nästan fördubblats. Samtidigt har koldioxidutsläppen minskat med 27 procent mellan åren 1990 och 2018, konsumtionen av
el, vatten och energi har stått still vilket innebär att
ekonomin är nästan dubbelt så effektiv. Av de 26
luftföroreningar Naturvårdsverket mätt sedan 1990
har 24 gått ner fram till 2017. I många fall har det
skett mer än en halvering.

Grafström, J. & Sandström, C. (2020). Mer för mindre?: Tillväxt och hållbarhet i Sverige. Ratio.

Baksidestext:

Går det att förena ekonomisk tillväxt med hållbar utveckling? Den här boken beskriver hur miljöskadliga utsläpp och användningen av naturresurser i Sverige har förändrats över tid.

Sedan 1990 har Sveriges befolkning ökat med drygt 1,6 miljoner och ekonomin nästan fördubblats. Samtidigt har koldioxidutsläppen minskat med 27 procent mellan åren 1990 och 2018, konsumtionen av el, vatten och energi har stått still vilket innebär att ekonomin är nästan dubbelt så effektiv. Av de 26 luftföroreningar Naturvårdsverket mätt sedan 1990 har 24 gått ner fram till 2017. I många fall har det skett mer än en halvering.

Evaluating Evaluations of Innovation Policy: Exploring Reliability, Methods, and Conflicts of Interest

Book chapterPublication

Collin, E., Sandström, C., & Wennberg, K.

Publiceringsår

2022

Published in

Questioning the Entrepreneurial State, 157.

Abstract

Expansions of innovation policies have been paralleled with an increase in the evaluations of such policies. Yet, there are few systematic evaluations of how such evaluations are conducted, by whom, and their overall conclusions. We analyze 110 evaluations of innovation policy in Sweden from 2005 to 2019. Our findings show that the majority of these evaluations are positive, about one-third are neutral in their conclusions, and very few are negative. The majority of evaluations were conducted by consulting firms, close to one-third by expert government agencies, and around 10% by university researchers or as self-evaluations by the governmental agencies responsible for the policy themselves. Few evaluations employed causal methods to assess the potential effects of policies. We discuss conflicts of interest and question the reliability of evaluations of innovation policy.

Directionality in Innovation Policy and The Ongoing Failure of Green Deals

Book chapterPublication

Sandström, C., & Alm, C.

Publiceringsår

2022

Published in

Questioning the Entrepreneurial State, 251.

Abstract

Environmental policy is no longer only about imposing regulations onindustry. It is increasingly regarded as industrial policy. Both the European Union and national governments are taking more active roles in initiating green deals and various technologies aiming at sustainable development. In this chapter, we describe and discuss some recent experiences of green innovation policies. Historical examples concerning efforts in both biogas and ethanol are combined with a more contemporary description of fossil-free steel, i.e., steel made using hydrogen instead of coal. We argue that the presence of large public funds from different funding bodies such as the European Union, various government agencies, and municipalities has distorted incentives, making it rational for firms to pursue technologies without long-term potential. The result has been an absence of sustainable development, mounting debt, and financial problems for the actors involved. We explain these results and draw policy conclusions concerning the risks related to green deals. Relatedly, we argue that the European Union’s current efforts in hydrogen gas face similar challenges.

The chapter can be accessed here.

No evidence of counteracting policy effects on European solar power invention and diffusion

Article (with peer review)Publication

Grafström, J., & Poudineh, R.

Publiceringsår

2023

Published in

Energy Policy, 172, 113319.

Abstract

In this paper, the questions of how support policies affect invention and diffusion of solar PV technology and whether the effect is heterogeneous and counteracting are investigated in order to help policy makers produce a better policy mix. The policies (and policy proxies) investigated are Feed-in-tariffs (FITs), Public R&D stock and flow, Environmental tax, and Environmental Policy Stringency Index. The policies are within the control of national government and no EU level policies are investigated. Evaluating policies on several dimensions is highly important since there is a risk that policies can promote one aspect of technological progress such as invention but derail diffusion. A Schumpeterian technological development approach is utilised on a panel dataset covering 23 European countries between 2000 and 2019. Two econometric approaches are employed, a negative binomial regression model is used to assess inventions and a panel data fixed effect regression is used for the diffusion model. The empirical findings suggest that no counteracting policy effects were present.

Mer för mindre? – Pocket

Abstract

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