Research for real-world impact

Gustav Martinsson’s research is recognized for real-world impact.

Gustav Martinsson’s research is recognized for real-world impact. Gustav Martinsson’s research article "Can Environmental Policy Encourage Technical Change? Emissions Taxes and R&D Investment in Polluting Firms", published in the Review of Financial Studies and co-authored with James R. Brown at Iowa State University and Christian Thomann at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), was shortlisted for 2023 Financial Times Responsible Business Education Awards. The real-world impact of the article was recognized as highly commended.

Research Summary

"The paper shows that putting a higher price on polluting (through a tax) leads to substantial increases in firms’ investment in research and development (R&D). Our results indicate that the entire response to the pollution tax is driven by firms with high pollution prior to its inception. We also show that the stock market valuation of polluting firms’ R&D goes up following the tax. Finally, we document that the reason polluting firms invest in R&D is to expand their capacity to absorb external knowledge and technical know-how."

Read the article Can Environmental Policy Encourage Technical Change? Emissions Taxes and R&D Investment in Polluting Firms