Drawing upon the literature on environmental innovation and social metabolism, this paper investigates whether technology can lessen the problem of scarce natural resources. We focus on fossil and biomass materials as important resources for production and consumption. Utilizing a dynamic panel...

This paper analyzes the consequences of radical patent-regime change by exploiting a natural experiment: the forced adoption of the Prussian patent system in territories annexed after the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Compared to other German states, Prussia granted patents more restrictively by...

Immigration has recently been at the centre of the political and economic agenda. Economists have studied extensively the impact of immigration on several economic and social indicators of host countries. The effect of immigration on innovation and technical change is, however, not much studied....