Patent Protection and the Transition to Clean Technology
研究取消对污染技术的专利保护能否促进清洁技术创新，长期降低排放和气候治理成本，使用一般均衡模型进行分析。
We analyze the use of patent protection as a new policy to direct technical change to clean technology. Contrary to popular belief, it is dirty (and not clean) innovations that should be excluded from patent protection to reduce emissions. In the short run, removing patent protection on dirty technology increases emissions. However, the reduced markup on dirty technology can induce clean innovation, reducing emissions in the long run. We use a general equilibrium model to show both analytically and numerically that removing patent protection on dirty technology can indeed promote the energy transition and reduce the cost of mitigating climate change.