Policy‐Induced Technology Adoption: Evidence from the U.S. Lead Phasedown
研究了美国石油行业在汽油含铅量淘汰过程中，经济工具（如可交易许可证）相比传统监管标准如何更有效地激励技术采纳，基于1971-1995年炼油厂面板数据的持续时间模型分析。
Theory suggests that economic instruments, such as pollution taxes or tradable permits, can provide more efficient technology adoption incentives than conventional regulatory standards. We explore this issue for an important industry undergoing dramatic decreases in allowed pollution – the U.S. petroleum industry's phasedown of lead in gasoline. Using a duration model applied to a panel of refineries from 1971–1995, we find that the pattern of technology adoption is consistent with an economic response to market incentives, plant characteristics, and alternative policies. Importantly, evidence suggests that the tradable permit system used during the phasedown provided incentives for more efficient technology adoption decisions.