Firm Behavior, Innovation and the Functioning of Markets
We do empirical and theoretical research on firm behavior, innovations and the functioning of markets. Our research contributes to academic and public debates about four major challenges. First, we investigate the relationships between innovation, entrepreneurship, productivity and growth. This includes studies on, which types of entrepreneurial firms perform better than others, how intellectual property rights influence firms’ incentives to innovate, how firms’ bank relationship might interact with their incentives to innovative, or how changes in transportation infrastructure changes firms’ productivity. Second, we analyze which consequences the green transition and increased climate risks have on firms, different markets, and different industries. This research tries to answer questions like, how should the design of electricity markets or the pricing and regulation of energy networks be adapted to more electricity being produced from renewables and/or in a much more decentralized way, how are housing prices influenced by major investments in the public transport infrastructure, or which effects have increased climate risks on firms’ innovations. Third, we investigate how optimal regulations should be designed in the face of new (or old) social challenges. This research focusses on questions, such as: How do alternative ways to provide health care affect social welfare and equality? Which negative or positive externalities are created in the housing market due to regulations like parking rules, tax rules or how to decide on changes in commonly owned areas? Finally, we study, which impact the digitalization of the economy had on firms and households. What were the consequences for firms, which invested in the digital skills of their employees, and for those, which did not do so. Which drivers of the digitalization process can be identified in public and private organizations in Denmark?
Faculty
Karin Hansson
External Funding
International and national public and private foundations have supported the research carried out in our group. Currently group members are, for example, involved in the following externally funded project:
Rockwool Foundation, DKK 6.5 million (Project: “Understanding Entrepreneurship Dynamics”), 2020-2024, Anders Sørensen (PI), Marek Giebel, and others from ECON.
Courses
Our group teaches courses in Industrial Organization, the Economics of Information and Contracts, Urban Economics, Energy Markets and Energy Economics, Environmental Economics and Sustainable Development, mainly at the graduate level.
Publications
We publish in highly ranked academic journals. A few recent examples can be found below:
Anette Boom and Stefan Buehler (2020), Vertical Structure and the Risk of Rent Extraction in the Electricity Industry, Journal of Economics & Management Strategy,29 (1), pp. 210-237.
Anette Boom and Sebastian Schwenen (2021), Is Real-time Pricing Smart for Consumers?, Journal of Regulatory Economics, 60 (2-3), pp. 193-213.
Marek Giebel and Kornelius Kraft (2019), External Financing Constraints and Firm Innovation, The Journal of Industrial Economics, 67(1), pp. 91-126.
Marek Giebel and Kornelius Kraft (2020), Bank Credit Supply and Firm Innovation Behavior in the Financial Crisis, Journal of Banking & Finance, 121, 105961.
Sai Amulya Nyathikala, Tooraj Jamasb, Manuel Llorca and Mukul Kulshrestha (2023), Utility governance, incentives, and performance: Evidence from India’s urban water sector, Utilities Policy, 82, 101534.
Golnoush Soroush, Carlo Cambini, Tooraj Jamasb and Manuel Llorca (2021), Network utilities performance and institutional quality: Evidence from the Italian electricity sector, Energy Economics, 96, 105177.
van Ommeren, J., M. McIvor, I. Mulalic and E. Inci. 2021. A novel methodology to estimate cruising for parking and related external costs. Transportation Research Part B, 145C, pp. 274-269.
McKenna, R., J.M. Weinand, I. Mulalic, S. Petrovic, K. Mainzer, T. Preis and H.S. Moat. 2021. Scenicness assessment of onshore wind sites with geotagged photographs and impacts on approval and cost-efficiency. Nature Energy, 6, pp. 663-672.
Kathryn L. Shaw and Anders Sørensen (2022), “Coming of Age: Watching Young Entrepreneurs Become Successful”, Labour Economics, Volume 77, August, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102033
Lene Kromann and Anders Sørensen (2019), “Automation, Performance and International Competition: Firm-level Comparisons of Process Innovation”, Economic Policy, 34, issue 100, October 2019, 691–722 - DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/epolic/eiaa002