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Energy and Economic Growth: The Stylized Facts

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  • Zsuzsanna Csereklyei

    (Geschwister Scholl Institute of Political Science, Ludwig-Maximilians-UniversitŠt Munich)

  • Maria del Mar Rubio Varas

    (Department of Economics, Universidad Publica de Navarra)

  • David I. Stern

    (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University)

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, energy quality to increase, and, though evidence is limited, the cost share of energy has declined.

Suggested Citation

  • Zsuzsanna Csereklyei & Maria del Mar Rubio Varas & David I. Stern, 2014. "Energy and Economic Growth: The Stylized Facts," CCEP Working Papers 1417, Centre for Climate & Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
  • Handle: RePEc:een:ccepwp:1417
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic development; energy intensity; energy efficiency;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q43 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy and the Macroeconomy
    • O44 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Environment and Growth
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products

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