Basic improvement and pseudo-innovations and their impact on efficiency

Increasing gaps between needs and resources lead both directly and indirectly to many economic and political implications, and have a widely uncontrolled feedback to the national economy. In this situation preference of improvement policy is a real danger to the economy. It is necessary to distinguish clearly three directions of technological policy (push, compensation, and continuation) and three types of innovation: basic, improvement, and pseudo-innovation. Innovation classification can be made due to various criteria. In this study two criteria were combined to evaluate the importance of a given technological innovation: scientific-technological level and range of application. The role of basic and improvement innovation in the cyclical development of economic efficiency can be described by a periodic function over time and also as a simple optimization model for investment policy.     

Factors of electric vehicle adoption: A comparison of conventional and electric car users based on an extended theory of planned behavior

Increasing the share of battery electric vehicles (BEV) in the total car fleet is regarded as a promising way to reduce local car emissions. Based on online surveys in Denmark and Sweden, this study compares BEV users' (n = 673) and conventional vehicle (CV) users' (n = 1794) socio-demographic profiles, attitudinal profiles, and mobility patterns. In line with previous research, BEV users are typically male, highly educated, have high incomes, and often more than one car in their household. Additionally, BEV users perceive less functional barriers toward BEV use and have more positive attitudes and norms than CV users. The different profiles of these user groups suggest a separate analysis of potential factors of BEV adoption in both groups. In regression analyses, CV and BEV users' intention to use/purchase a BEV is modeled based on factors of the Theory of Planned Behavior extended by personal norm, perceived mobility necessities, and BEV experience. For CV users, symbolic attitudes related to BEVs are the most important factor of intention, while perceived functional barriers in terms of driving range are most relevant for BEV users' intention. How BEV users cope with trips of longer distance seems of particular relevance. In multiple car households, we found the percentage of actual BEV usage related to the type of other cars in the household, perceived functional barriers of BEVs as well as (successful) behavioral adaption to longer trips by BEVs. Based on the results, we discuss ways to increase BEV adoption for current users and non-users.     

Long waves in world industrial production,energy consumption,innovations, inventions,and patents and their identification by spectral analysis

Long-term cycles have been much discussed in the literature since Kondratieff (1926). (“Cycles” is, of course, a quite arbitrary term for these time periods.) Spectral analysis was applied by the authors to long-time series of industrial production, energy consumption, inventions, innovations, and patents in order to reveal quantitative regularities in their behavior and or in their interdependence. An attempt was also made to identify logistics within those time series. In the long cycle of 50–53 years no significant autocorrelation could be detected. Logistics exist only in three special periods for innovations and inventions. Nondominant long cycles do appear in the interaction between innovations, production, patents, and energy consumption. The investigation shed light on the causal structure of the innovation system. In particular, it revealed a significant influence of industrial production on patents with a lag of 9 years.