The Growth Effects of R&D Spending in the EU: A Meta-Analysis - Ratio

The Growth Effects of R&D Spending in the EU: A Meta-Analysis - Ratio

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Article (with peer review)

Reviewing the EU policy nexus of energy efficiency and social policy

Nordensvard, J., Björklund, M., von Malmborg, F., La Fleur, L., Skogsmo, E., & Gamez, D. H. B.

Publication year

2025

Published in

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse how the European Union (EU) energy policy has merged social policy concepts with energy efficiency policy. Energy efficiency has increasingly become understood through social policy concepts such as energy poverty, energy inequality, and lack of cohesion. Previous research has shown how the social aspects of energy efficiency have been highlighted by the European Commission when discussing the multiple benefits of increased energy efficiency efforts, such as building renovations.

Using a mixed-method approach with material from the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament, we review energy policy from a social policy perspective. The analysis is conducted in two steps. First, we identify which EU institutions acted as agenda-setters in introducing the social aspects of energy efficiency. Second, we describe and analyse the framing process through which social concepts are merged with energy policy.

The study combines qualitative and quantitative analyses of EU policy documents. A set of key words is used in the quantitative analysis to explore the links between social policy and energy policy.

We conclude that social aspects were first connected to the energy policy field by the European Parliament. This connection was later reinforced by the European Commission through the inclusion of social policy elements, particularly in policies addressing the transition to energy efficiency and zero-carbon buildings, where concepts such as energy poverty have become central.

Do Targeted R&D Grants toward SMEs Increase Employment and Demand for High Human Capital Workers?

Daunfeldt, S. O., Halvarsson, D., Tingvall, P. G., & McKelvie, A.

Publication year

2022

Published in

Springer.

Abstract

Most previous studies on the employment effects of government R&D grants targeting SMEs are characterized by data-, measurement-, and selection problems, making it difficult to construct a relevant control group of firms that did not receive an R&D grant. We investigate the effects on employment and firm-level demand for high human capital workers of two Swedish programs targeted toward growth-oriented SMEs using Coarsened Exact Matching. Our most striking result is the absence of any statistically significant effects. We find no robust evidence that the targeted R&D grant programs had any positive and statistically significant effects on the number of employees recruited into these SMEs, or that the grants are associated with an increase in the demand for high human capital workers. The lack of statistically significant findings is troublesome considering that government support programs require a positive impact to cover the administrative costs associated with these programs.

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Ratio Working Paper No. 350: A quickly transforming labour market

Uddén Sonnegård, E.

Publication year

2021

Published in

Ratio Working Paper

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has made it clear that the labour market situation can change
extremely rapidly when there is an unexpected exogenous shock to the economy. Even
though the transformation of the labour market as a result of the development of ICT
(Information Communication Technology) industries facilitates more-flexible
conditions, it is now more important than ever for EU Member States to improve the
functioning of their labour markets. Member States need to increase possibilities for
training and retraining throughout peoples’ working lives in order to smooth the
transformation into a digital world of work.