This is a Free article. You will receive access to the full text.

Energy and Economic Growth: The Stylized Facts

Free Article

Abstract:
We summarize what we know about energy and economic growth in a set of stylized facts. We combine analysis of a panel data set of 99 countries from 1971 to 2010 with analysis of some longer run historical data. Our key result is that over the last 40 years there has been a stable cross-sectional relationship between per capita energy use and income per capita with an elasticity of energy use with respect to income of less than unity. This implies that energy intensity has tended to decrease in countries that have become richer but not in others. We also find that over the last two centuries there has been convergence in energy intensity towards the current distribution, per capita energy use has tended to rise and energy quality to increase, and, though evidence is limited, the cost share of energy has declined.

Download Executive Summary Download PDF

Energy Specializations: Energy and the Economy – Other; Energy Efficiency – Barriers to Adoption; Energy Efficiency – Energy Production and Transformation; Energy and the Economy –Economic Growth and Energy Demand; Energy and the Economy – Energy as a Productive Input

JEL Codes: Q40: Energy: General, Q41: Energy: Demand and Supply; Prices

Keywords: Economic development, Energy intensity, Energy efficiency

DOI: 10.5547/01956574.37.2.zcse

References: Reference information is available for this article. Join IAEE, log in, or purchase the article to view reference data.

Published in Volume 37, Number 2 of the bi-monthly journal of the IAEE's Energy Economics Education Foundation.

 

© 2024 International Association for Energy Economics | Privacy Policy | Return Policy