Solar Power, Technology Policy, and Climate Change
Professor Erin Baker, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at UMass/Amherst, will be the guest speaker at this week's Marketing Pro-Seminar. All are invited to attend.
Title: Solar Power, Technology Policy, and Climate Change
Abstract:
One of the most pressing problems facing the world today is global climate change. In order to address this problem, the world must reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing it. Government policies are needed to address this problem. Most relevant policies will potentially have two impacts: 1) policies can directly reduce emissions in the short run; and 2) policies can lead toward the invention, adoption, and diffusion of new low-emissions energy technologies in the long run. Many experts agree that this second impact - technological change - is crucial to solving the climate change problem.
In this talk I will consider the interaction between two types of technology policy. One type of policy is aimed at supporting the invention of new technologies, and is often called "technology-push." Examples of this type of policy are direct government R&D and R&D subsidies to firms. Another type of policy is aimed at supporting the diffusion of new technologies, and is often called "demand-pull." Examples of this type of policy are subsidies on new technologies or technology standards. Environmental policies, such as a tax on carbon emissions, also act as demand-pull policies.
I will present some current work in which we use economic and engineering models to estimate the impact of the two types of subsidies on the cost of manufacturing solar cells; and discuss how the two types of policies interact. I will also present some results on how the diffusion of a technology like solar power depends crucially on which other technologies are available and socially acceptable.
More information about Prof. Erin Baker.
