Call for Papers: Green Transformation and Competitive Advantage

You are here

Home > News > Call for Papers: Green Transformation and Competitive Advantage
Call for Papers
22 March 2018

The German Development Institute - Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) has issued a call for papers for the Green Transformation and Competitive Advantage: Evidence from Developing Countries conference, to be held in Bonn, Germany, 18-19 June 2018. 

 

Background

Developing country governments are increasingly committing to ‘greening’ their economies, most explicitly under the Paris Agreement, where nearly all governments agreed to establish national roadmaps for decarbonisation. Many developing country governments have furthermore enacted comprehensive national green growth strategies aimed at reducing their environmental footprints and turning this into new competitive advantage. Yet, in general, poorer countries’ governments tend to be even more reluctant than those of rich countries to pursue ambitious green transformation pathways, arguing that
  • They do not have the financial and institutional means to internalize environmental costs, and
  • Their economies are mostly factor-driven, hence internalizing environmental costs may undermine their competitive advantages in international trade vis-à-vis innovation-driven economies that may reap the benefits of a technological paradigm change more easily.
For these reasons, many analysts and policymakers favour a ‘grow first and clean up later’ strategy. Our conference seeks to challenge this strategy through a better understanding of the economic cobenefits and costs of green transformations. Confirmed speakers include Edward Barbier (Colorado State University), Sam Fankhauser (Grantham Research Institute, LSE), Ann Harrison (The Wharton School), and Xue Lan (Tsinghua University).
 
Research gap

Given the scale of the required shift in technological pathways and related investments towards sustainability, the impacts on the economies of industrialised and developing countries alike can hardly be overstated. In this process, the interrelations between green transformations and competitive advantages are complex and imply manifold synergies and trade-offs. For example, some green investments pay off quickly and thus enhance firm competitiveness, whereas others have longer amortization periods and may reduce competitiveness in the short or medium terms. Some green technologies may spur technological learning in developing countries and create opportunities for participation in global value chains , whereas others may not be suitable for local development and production. Similarly, green investments can have high upfront costs, but can increase environmental performance and efficiency in certain industries.

In sum, the impacts of the green transformation on innovation, on national or sector competiveness, and on trade performance are not yet fully understood. At the same time, they are highly relevant, given the fact that political buy-in for green transformation agendas essentially depends on stakeholders’ expectations of economic co-benefits and costs. Moreover, most studies on these interdependencies focus on OECD countries, whereas research on developing countries, where the drivers of competitive advantages are substantially different, is scarce. Guidance for developing country governments on policy design to create synergies and manage trade-offs between the green transformation and competitiveness is, therefore, crucial.
 
This conference will thus focus on:
  • Changes in developing countries’ national or sectoral competitive (dis)advantages arising from the sustainability shift in global technological trajectories, and corresponding shifts in natural resource requirements;
  • Fostered or hindered by national policies and politics, and
  • Reinforced or mitigated through international trade and increasingly globalised value chains.

 

Contributions

The conference intends to bring together research on the link between green transformation and competitiveness in developing and emerging countries (understood as non-OECD countries, but including Chile and Mexico). It does so by bridging various disciplines and methodologies, including for example patent data analysis, qualitative case studies, econometric research, foresight studies, and integrated assessment modelling. It combines invited papers and papers selected via a call and review process.

We encourage papers from various academic disciplines and using a variety of data and methodologies, including conceptual papers, empirical cross-country studies as well as case studies on specific sectors, technologies and/or countries. Given the lack of empirical evidence from low-income countries, contributions dealing with this group of countries and which ideally address the employment and income distribution effects of green transformations are particularly welcome.

Contributions should directly or indirectly be relevant to policy formulation and implementation and reflect upon political-economy aspects that may facilitate or hamper implementation. They should address one of the following three work streams:
 
1. Greening technological trajectories and new competitive advantages. As environmental constraints change the demand for technologies and resources, competitive opportunities for countries change. Similarly, some types of assets may be stranded (e.g. fossil fuels), while others (e.g. biomaterials, lithium) may see increasing demand, thus re-defining the meaning of “resource-rich” countries. What will be the main technologies to be developed and deployed along green transformation pathways, and which countries are most likely to take advantage of them? Will countries shift towards circular economy principles, and how will this affect their competitiveness? How will devaluation of ‘brown’ assets and new demand for ‘green’ assets affect competitiveness and socio-economic power positions? How can developing countries build the required capacities to benefit from the shifts? This work stream will bring together Integrated Assessment Models, technology foresight studies, ‘competitive advantage forecasting’ (using e.g. economic complexity analysis) and empirical case studies of changing competitive advantages and ensuing shifts in political economy dynamics.
 
2. National green policies and early mover advantages. Environmental policies can add to the costs of doing business, but they can also trigger innovation that may more than fully offset the costs of complying with them. Countries may reap early mover advantages in green technologies, capturing shares in not yet fully developed product or service markets. Is there such evidence - if not in terms of cutting-edge innovations, then at least relative to other developing countries? Is there evidence of green technology patenting in developing countries that hint to increasing competitiveness? At the same time, as technological capacity is built, there may be economic benefits to entering a market at later stages. What does evidence tell us about the right time to enter? Which policies have been successful in creating early mover or early follower advantages? How can political coalitions for the implementation of such green policies be organized? This workstream will include firm-level or country level case studies as well as cross country empirical analyses, exploring correlations and causalities between national policies and competitiveness outcomes, such as increased patenting.
 
We expect accepted presenters to submit a zero draft of their paper by 04 June 2018, and to participate in the conference. Zero drafts should have a minimum length of 4000 words and outline the theoretical background, methods, and main findings of the paper. Travel and accommodation expenses of all accepted presenters will be covered in accordance with Bundesreisekostengesetz (German Federal Travel Expenses Act).

 

Outcome

The conference will facilitate exchange among scholars, policy makers and practitioners. Its results will be used to prepare a Special Issue on green transformation and its competitiveness effects in developing countries. We are currently negotiating with various editors of highly ranked journals. 

 

Important dates

  • 9 April 2018 - Extended outline submission (1200-2000 words)
  • 23 April 2018 - Decision notification: Conference acceptance
  • 04 June 2018 - Zero draft submission (min. 4000 words)
  • 18/19 June 2018 - Conference presentation
  • 02 July 2018 - Notification of invitation to contribute to Special Issue

Contact

In case of content related questions, please contact Anna Pegels (anna.pegels@die-gdi.de) or Tilman Altenburg (tilman.altenburg@die-gdi.de). For logistical information, please contact Ina Klemke (ina.klemke@die-gdi.de).
Original Article