Professional activities: Reviewer at Energy Policy journal

  This project was initially conceived to investigate the impact of Emissions Trading Systems (ETSs) on innovation and economic activities in both Japan and India. As the study progressed, it became evident that the ETS in India was implemented only for a limited period, and crucial data necessary for a comprehensive analysis was not available. This unforeseen constraint compelled a strategic recalibration of the research focus. Consequently, the project's scope was refined to concentrate exclusively on Japan's ETS. This pivot allowed for a more in-depth exploration within the Japanese context, leveraging the availability of robust and comprehensive data.  The study explores the impact of regional ETSs on different types of innovation activitiesincluding green (non-green) patenting and R&D activities in the case ofJapan. By employing a heterogeneity analysis, the study also investigates theinterplay between ETS-induced innovation and firms' competitiveness. A doublyrobust difference-in-difference analysis, supplemented by uniquefirm-level survey data, forms the methodological robust of this study.Additionally, the study conducts several robustness tests, including dynamicDiD analysis, tests for violations of the Stable Unit Treatment ValueAssumption (SUTVA), and placebo tests, to ensure the reliability of theempirical results.  This study's key findings and contributions are asfollows. First, we find that Japan's regional ETSs enhance targeted firms' engagement in both patent applications and R&D activities. Specifically,patenting activities show improvement during the initial stage, while R&Dactivities are enhanced during the compliance period covered by this study. Itindicates that the process innovation is improved rather than productinnovation under Japan's regional ETSs, which is consistent with existing literature.However, this study does not find evidence that Japan's regional ETSsspecifically encourage green innovation within the study period. Targeted firmsseem to prefer purchasing high-efficiency equipment or prioritizing immediatelyapplicable technologies, which may not be captured in the count of greenpatents. Second, this study finds that the Japan's regional ETSs increase thecompetitiveness of targeted firms, particularly those that areinnovation-intensive. This finding supports the Porter Hypothesis in theJapanese context, indicating that ETS-induced innovation improves firms' competitiveness.  The study, while robust in its current form, acknowledges the intrinsic challenges in fully delineating the causal repercussions of ETS through the employed doubly robust DiD estimation technique. Moving forward, the research intends to rigorously revisit and refine the estimation methodology to fortify the reliability of the findings.