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Economic sanctions and energy efficiency: Evidence from Iranian industrial sub-sectors

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  • Jabari, Leyla
  • Salem, Ali Asghar
  • Zamani, Omid
  • Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza

Abstract

Improving energy efficiency is vital for reducing energy consumption and can have substantial impacts on reducing carbon emissions. This study investigates the impact of sanctions on Iran's energy efficiency across different industrial sub-sectors from 2015 to 2019. We compute a sanction intensity index for each industrial sub-sector using principal component analysis. This index measures how much each sub-sector has been affected by sanctions. Additionally, energy efficiency is measured using the directional distance function method, considering the emission impacts as undesirable outputs. We use fixed effects regression analysis, adjusting for various manifestations of cross-sectional (spatial) and temporal dependence and controlling for other sectoral drivers of energy efficiency. We find a significant negative effect of sanction intensity on energy efficiency at the industrial sub-sector level in Iran. The negative effect of sanctions on energy efficiency is significantly larger for industrial units with higher import dependency.

Suggested Citation

  • Jabari, Leyla & Salem, Ali Asghar & Zamani, Omid & Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza, 2024. "Economic sanctions and energy efficiency: Evidence from Iranian industrial sub-sectors," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:139:y:2024:i:c:s0140988324006285
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2024.107920
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    1. Heydarian, Samira & Pahlavani, Mosayeb & Mirjalili, Seyed Hossein, 2023. "Financial Sanctions and the Imports of Intermediate and Capital Goods in Iran: DID Method," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 15(2), pages 101-134.
    2. Wang, Yafei & Shi, Ming & Zhao, Zihan & Liu, Junnan & Zhang, Shiqiu, 2025. "How does green finance improve the total factor energy efficiency? Capturing the mediating role of green management innovation and embodied technological progress," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    3. Mokhtari, MohammadAli & Ghoddusi, Hamed, 2025. "Fueling inequality: A novel estimate from large-scale reforms," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).

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