Environmental regulation and the cross-border diffusion of new technology: Evidence from automobile patents

Antoine Dechezleprêtre, Eric Neumayer and Richard Perkins. In: Research Policy. Volume 44, Issue 1, February 2015, Pages 244–257.

Examines the relationship between environmental regulation and cross-national flows of environmentally sound technologies.
Estimates the effect of tailpipe automobile emission standards on cross-border flows of automobile emissions control technology patents.
Finds it is regulatory “distance” between countries rather than absolute stringency in recipient countries that matters.
Estimates that a one unit tightening in Euro-equivalent emission standards increases patent inflow by around 14%.