Innovation Seminar Series: Natural Resources and Innovation

Welcome to our innovation seminar where Paul Pelzl visits from NHH in Bergen. He will present his paper about natural resources and innovation. There will also be possibility to schedule a meeting with Pelzl; if so: contact Marte C.W Solheim. The seminar can also be followed at Zoom.

Abstract:

Using data on oil and gas endowment and patent applications at the US county level, we provide novel evidence that natural resource booms spur an increase in innovation both within and outside the resource sector. This finding speaks against a natural resource curse that operates through reducing overall innovation, and provides novel evidence that economic booms raise innovation also at a very local level. Our results on non-oil and gas innovation are driven by an increase in patenting in engineering and applied physics (including e.g. measuring devices), which suggests a link to the booming resource sector. Additional evidence indicates that the rise in local innovation may be partly explained by a relaxation of financial constraints due to the extra oil and gas revenue in boom times. We also find that oil and gas booms lead to a rise in green innovation in the short run but a decrease in green innovation in the longer run.

Zoom: https://stavanger.zoom.us/j/69552263076?pwd=ditvRVQ0QnhDaEJxNGlBRlA2TktGZz09

Meeting ID: 695 5226 307

Password: 322230