TY  - JOUR
AU  - Arora, Ashish
AU  - Gambardella, Alfonso
TI  - Implications for Energy Innovation from the chemical industry
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 15676
PY  - 2010
Y2  - January 2010
DO  - 10.3386/w15676
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15676
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15676.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Ashish Arora
Fuqua School of Business
Duke University
Box 90120
Durham, NC 27708-0120
Tel: 919 660 7746
Fax: 919 684-2818
E-Mail: ashish.arora@duke.edu

Alfonso Gambardella
Department of Management and Technology
Bocconi University
Via Roentgen 1
20136 Milan
Italy
Tel: +39-02-58363706
Fax: +39-02-58363391
E-Mail: alfonso.gambardella@unibocconi.it
M1  - published as Ashish Arora, Alfonso Gambardella. "Implications for Energy Innovation from the Chemical Industry," in Rebecca M. Henderson and Richard G. Newell, editors, "Accelerating Energy Innovation: Insights from Multiple Sectors" University of Chicago Press (2011)

M3  - presented at "Energy Innovation Conference", April 3, 2009
AB  - The history of innovation in the chemical industry offers many insights for accelerating energy innovation.  In this chapter, we begin by laying out the early history of the chemical industry for an overview of the role innovation has played in its development. We then explore three noteworthy historical experiences. We describe the switch in feedstocks from coal to oil, and briefly analyze two government programs that have attempted to promote innovation: synthetic rubber and synfuels. We take a close look at the role that specialized engineering firms have played in the diffusion of important innovations, and we detail the effect that government policies have had on fostering innovation. In particular, we highlight the role of anti-trust policies, and of policies for protecting intellectual property rights.
ER  -