Total-factor energy efficiency of regions in Japan

This study computes the regional total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) in Japan by employing the data envelopment analysis (DEA). A dataset of 47 prefectures in Japan for the period 1993–2003 is constructed. There are 14 inputs, including three production factors (labor employment, private, and public capital stocks) and 11 energy sources (electric power for commercial and industrial use, electric power for residential use, gasoline, kerosene, heavy oil, light oil, city gas, butane gas, propane gas, coal, and coke). GDP is the sole output. Following Fukao and Yue [2000. Regional factor inputs and convergence in Japan—how much can we apply closed economy neoclassical growth models? Economic Review 51, 136–151 (in Japanese)], data on private and public capital stocks are extended. All the nominal variables are transformed into real variables, taking into consideration the 1995 price level. For kerosene, gas oil, heavy oil, butane gas, coal, and coke, there are a few prefectures with TFEEs less than 0.7. The five most inefficient prefectures are Niigata, Wakayama, Hyogo, Chiba, and Yamaguchi. Inland regions and most regions along the Sea of Japan are efficient in energy use. Most of the inefficient prefectures that are developing mainly upon energy-intensive industries are located along the Pacific Belt Zone. A U-shaped relation similar to the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) is discovered between energy efficiency and per capita income for the regions in Japan.     

Analysis of CO2 emissions in APEC countries: A time-series and a cross-sectional decomposition using the log mean Divisia method

We decompose the changes of CO₂ emissions in APEC countries over time as well as the differences of CO₂ emissions among three income groups of APEC countries at a given period of time based on the logarithmic mean Divisia decomposition approach. Among the major findings of the paper the growth in per capita GDP and population are the two dominant contributors to the increase in CO₂ emissions in most cases. Furthermore, energy efficiency and fuel switching are found to be the two most promising fields for possible cooperation between APEC member countries.     

Imbalance in Europe's Effort Sharing Decision: Scope for strengthening incentives for energy savings in the non-ETS sectors

Europe's 2020 greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target consists of two sub-targets: one for the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) sectors and one for the non-ETS sectors. The non-ETS target covers CO₂ emissions in buildings, transport and non-ETS industry and non-CO₂ GHG emissions. The non-ETS target is known as Europe's Effort Sharing Decision. This article discusses the GDP per capita method the European Commission has applied in setting Member State specific targets for the non-ETS (“the effort sharing”) and shows that it results in an imbalanced reduction effort among the Member States. It turns out that the principal mechanism of the GDP per capita method (low-GDP countries get room to catch up with high-GDP countries by allowing them to increase emissions) is obscured by the non-CO₂ GHGs, the baseline projections of which are highly policy-induced and not correlated with the growth of GDP per capita. We propose an alternative method that (1) corrects for the policy-induced decrease of non-CO₂ GHG emissions and (2) is based on energy savings potentials. This approach could be used in future target setting for non-ETS sectors – including in the case that the overarching EU-wide target would be strengthened – and would provide a direct support to Europe's energy savings ambitions and policies.     

Economies of scale in energy use in adult-only households

The residential sector is responsible for 18% of Australia's primary energy use; thus improved knowledge about household energy use is vital to future energy management. This study examines economies of scale in energy use and expenditure among adult-only households and across three adult-only household types. Significant economies of scale are found in all cases. Small households suffer a double penalty of greater per capita energy use and higher charge per unit of energy, with older households the most affected. The trend towards smaller average household size means that economies of scale are continually being lost, offsetting gains in energy efficiency achieved through other means.     

The causal relationship between energy consumption and GDP in Albania,Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania: Evidence from ARDL bound testing approach

The purpose of this study is to investigate the causal relationship between energy and economic growth in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania from 1980 to 2006 by employing energy use per capita, electric power consumption per capita and real GDP per capita variables. To examine this linkage, we use the two-step procedure from the Engle and Granger model: In first step, we explore the long-run relationships between the variables by using recently developed autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach of cointegration. Secondly, we employ a dynamic vector error correction (VEC) model to test causal relationships between variables. The bounds test yields evidence of a long-run relationship between energy use per capita and real GDP per capita and evidence of two-way (bidirectional) strong Granger causality between these variables only in Hungary. On the other hand, the ARDL bounds test results show that there is no a unique long-term or equilibrium relationship between energy consumption variables and real GDP per capita in Albania, Bulgaria and Romania. In other words, no cointegration exists between these variables in these three countries. The econometric analysis suggests that any causal relationships within dynamic error correction model for Albania, Bulgaria and Romania cannot be estimated.     

CO2 emissions,energy consumption and economic growth in Turkey

This paper examines the long run and causal relationship issues between economic growth, carbon emissions, energy consumption and employment ratio in Turkey by using autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach of cointegration. Empirical results for Turkey over the period 1968–2005 suggest an evidence of a long-run relationship between the variables at 5% significance level in Turkey. The estimated income elasticity of carbon emissions per capita is ?0.606 and the income elasticity of energy consumption per capita is 1.375. Results for the existence and direction of Granger causality show that neither carbon emissions per capita nor energy consumption per capita cause real GDP per capita, but employment ratio causes real GDP per capita in the short run. In addition, EKC hypothesis at causal framework by using a linear logarithmic model is not valid in Turkish case. The overall results indicates that energy conservation policies, such as rationing energy consumption and controlling carbon dioxide emissions, are likely to have no adverse effect on the real output growth of Turkey.     

The relationship between pollutant emissions,renewable energy,nuclear energy and GDP: empirical evidence from 18 developed and developing countries

This document investigates the causal relationship between nuclear energy (NE), pollutant emissions (CO₂ emissions), gross domestic product (GDP) and renewable energy (RE) using dynamic panel data models for a global panel consisting of 18 countries (developed and developing) covering the 1990–2013 period. Our results indicate that there is a co-integration between variables. The unit root test suggests that all the variables are stationary in first differences. The paper further examines the link using the Granger causality analysis of vector error correction model, which indicates a unidirectional relationship running from GDP per capita to pollutant emissions for the developed and developing countries. However, there is a unidirectional causality from GDP per capita to RE in the short and long run. This finding confirms the conservation hypothesis. Similarly, there is no causality between NE and GDP per capita.     

Transport sector CO2 emissions growth in Asia: Underlying factors and policy options

This study analyze the potential factors influencing the growth of transport sector carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in selected Asian countries during the 1980–2005 period by decomposing annual emissions growth into components representing changes in fuel mix, modal shift, per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and population, as well as changes in emission coefficients and transportation energy intensity. We find that changes in per capita GDP, population growth and transportation energy intensity are the main factors driving transport sector CO₂ emission growth in the countries considered. While growth in per capita income and population are responsible for the increasing trend of transport sector CO₂ emissions in China, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand; the decline of transportation energy intensity is driving CO₂ emissions down in Mongolia. Per capita GDP, population and transportation energy intensity effects are all found responsible for transport sector CO₂ emissions growth in Bangladesh, the Philippines and Vietnam. The study also reviews existing government policies to limit CO₂ emissions growth, such as fiscal instruments, fuel economy standards and policies to encourage switching to less emission intensive fuels and transportation modes.     

Renewable energy consumption and income in emerging economies

Increased economic growth and demand for energy in emerging economies is creating an opportunity for these countries to increase their usage of renewable energy. This paper presents and estimates two empirical models of renewable energy consumption and income for a panel of emerging economies. Panel cointegration estimates show that increases in real per capita income have a positive and statistically significant impact on per capita renewable energy consumption. In the long term, a 1% increase in real income per capita increases the consumption of renewable energy per capita in emerging economies by approximately 3.5%. Long-term renewable energy per capita consumption price elasticity estimates are approximately equal to −0.70.     

Characteristic analysis and forecast of electricity supply and demand in APEC

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) comprises of the world’s largest producers and consumers of energy, accounting for 60.3% of primary energy supply, 50.0% of final energy consumption, and 63.0% of electricity generation worldwide in 2016. This study discusses the primary energy supply and final energy consumption situation of the APEC and analyzes the characteristics of electricity in terms of its generation structure based on fuel, consumption by the end-use sector, access to electricity, and so on. The renewable energy and electricity generation projections up to 2030 based on trends in the APEC are also assessed. It is seen that electricity in final energy consumption has been on an upward trend, with an average annual growth rate of about 4.8% during 2006-2016; in 2016, its share reached 24.3%. The industry sector consumes the largest share of electricity, accounting for about 45.5% in 2016. Coal supply and consumption peaked in 2011 and then began to decline, while renewable energy has been on an upward trend, with its primary energy supply share increasing from 4.80% in 2010 to 6.29% in 2016. Solar photovoltaic and onshore wind power are on the verge of costing less than the operating cost of existing coal-fired plants in 2018. In the APEC’s target scenario in which renewable energy is doubled, the predicted net growth from 2017 to 2030 of solar, wind, and hydro power is about 963, 497, and 157 GW, respectively, and to reach this target, the APEC economies need to accelerate renewable energy development.     

浅析山西的经济增长与环境污染水平关系

叙述了借鉴山西省1989年至2005年的经济与环境数据,建立典型环境指标与人均GDP的计量模型,以及二者之间的关系,指出,除烟尘排放量外,其他典型环境指标与人均GDP之间的相关性很强,山西省自1989年以来,综合环境质量下降的原因主要表现在不合理的能源开采利用方式、畸形的经济结构、环保投入不足以及环境监督不力、执法不严4个方面.     

Energy metrics for driving competitiveness of countries: Energy weakness magnitude,GDP per barrel and barrels per capita

Energy metrics is the development of a whole new theoretical framework for the conception and measurement of energy and economic system performances, energy efficiency and productivity improvements with important political economy implications consistent with the best use of all natural and economic resources. The purpose of this research is to present some vital energy indicators based on magnitude and scale of energy weakness, GDP per barrel of oil that is an indicator of energy productivity and barrels (of oil) per capita that is an indicator of energy efficiency. Energy metrics can support the monitoring of energy and economic system performances in order to design effective energy strategy and political economy interventions focused on the “competitive advantage” increase of countries in modern economies.     

单位电量CO_2排放强度与单位产值CO_2排放强度关系初探

电力单位产值CO2排放强度是全国单位产值CO2排放强度的重要组成部分,其既与电力行业排放绩效即单位发电量CO2排放强度有关,也与全社会能源效率、电气化水平、资源与市场情况等因素相关。本文系统分析了有关指标的统计特征、国际对比、影响因素及趋势预测,指出"十二五"及"十三五"期间,不论是单位电量CO2排放强度,还是电力单位产值CO2排放强度,其下降幅度都是有限的,需要理性看待并科学设置规划指标。     

Electricity consumption and economic growth nexus in Bangladesh: Revisited evidences

In this paper, an attempt is being made to examine the causal relationship between per capita electricity consumption and per capita GDP of Bangladesh using the vector error correction specified Granger causality test to search their short-run, long-run and joint causal relationships for the period of 1971–2008. Empirical findings reveal that there is a short-run unidirectional causal flow running from per capita electricity consumption to per capita GDP without feedback. The presence of a positive short-run causality explains that an increase in electricity consumption directly affects economic activity in Bangladesh. Likewise, results from joint causality exhibit the same as in short-run. By contrast, long-run results show a bi-directional causality running from electricity consumption to economic growth with feedback. These findings can provide essential policy insights to design immediate and long-term growth prospect for Bangladesh keeping in mind its present planned growth strategy and dismal power and energy sector.     

Electricity demand,GDP and employment: evidence from Italy

This paper applies time series methodologies to examine the causal relationship among electricity demand, real per capita GDP and total labor force for Italy from 1970 to 2009. After a brief introduction, a survey of the economic literature on this issue is reported, before discussing the data and introducing the econometric techniques used. The results of estimation indicate that one cointegrating relationship exists among these variables. This equilibrium relation implies that, in the long-run, GDP and labor force are correlated negatively, as well as GDP and electricity. Moreover, there is a bi-directional Granger causality flow between real per capita GDP and electricity demand; while labor force does not Grangercause neither real per capita GDP nor electricity demand. This implies that electricity demand and economic growth are jointly determined at the same time for the Italian case. The forecast error variance decomposition shows that forecast errors in real per capita GDP are mainly caused by the uncertainty in GDP itself, while forecast errors in labor force are mainly resulted from the labor force itself, although aggregate income and electricity are important, too.     

Energy demand convergence in APEC: An empirical analysis

This paper empirically examines the cross-country convergence of per-capita energy and electricity usage in APEC, a significant economic bloc. To this end, the study applies conventional panel unit root tests and Sequential Panel Selection Model (SPSM) procedure based on the Panel KSS unit root with a Fourier function for robustness analysis. The results from conventional unit root test results indicate that per capita energy usage and electricity consumption are converging for all APEC countries, in line with improving living standards in APEC. The findings also provide some support for policies to promote energy integration among APEC countries. According to SPSM analysis, evidence of energy convergence is found for 15 out of 19 APEC countries and evidence of electricity convergence is found for 17 out of 19 APEC countries. Pursuit of policies to achieve energy supply stability can move divergent countries toward convergence.     

Total-factor energy efficiency of regions in China

This paper analyzes energy efficiencies of 29 administrative regions in China for the period 1995–2002 with a newly introduced index. Most existing studies of regional productivity and efficiency neglect energy inputs. We use the data envelopment analysis (DEA) to find the target energy input of each region in China at each particular year. The index of total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) then divides the target energy input by the actual energy input. In our DEA model, labor, capital stock, energy consumption, and total sown area of farm crops used as a proxy of biomass energy are the four inputs and real GDP is the single output. The conventional energy productivity ratio regarded as a partial-factor energy efficiency index is computed for comparison in contrast to TFEE; our index is found fitting better to the real case. According to the TFEE index rankings, the central area of China has the worst energy efficiency and its total adjustmentof energy consumption amount is over half of China's total. Regional TFEE in China generally improved during the research period except for the western area. A U-shape relation between the area's TFEE and per capita income in the areas of China is found, confirming the scenario that energy efficiency eventually improves with economic growth.     

Renewable energy: An efficient mechanism to improve GDP

This article analyzes the effects of renewable energy on GDP for 116 economies in 2003 through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. In order to decipher the mechanism of how the use of renewables improves macroeconomic efficiency, we decompose GDP by the “expenditure approach”. Although previous theory predicts positive effects of renewables on capital formation and trade balance, the SEM results show that renewables have a significant positive influence on capital formation only. The result that renewables do not have a significant impact on trade balance implies that renewables do not have an import substitution effect. Thus, we confirm the positive relationship between renewable energy and GDP through the path of increasing capital formation, but not for the path of increasing trade balance.     

Energy consumption and GDP in Tunisia: Cointegration and causality analysis

In this paper, the Johansen cointegration technique is used to examine the causal relationship between per capita energy consumption (PCEC) and per capita gross domestic product (PCGDP) for Tunisia during the 1971–2004 period. In order to test for Granger causality in the presence of cointegration among the variables, a vector error correction model (VECM) is used instead of a vector autoregressive (VAR) model. Our estimation results indicate that the PCGDP and PCEC for Tunisia are related by one cointegrating vector and that there is a long-run bi-directional causal relationship between the two series and a short-run unidirectional causality from energy to gross domestic product (GDP). The source of causation in the long-run is found to be the error-correction terms in both directions. Hence, an important policy implication resulting from this analysis is that energy can be considered as a limiting factor to GDP growth in Tunisia. Conclusions for Tunisia may also be relevant for a number of countries that have to go through a similar development path of increasing pressure on already scarce energy resources.