IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v282y2023ics0360544223023216.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How do power shortages affect CO2 emission intensity? Firm-level evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Yu, Jian
  • Liu, Peng
  • Fu, Dahai
  • Shi, Xunpeng

Abstract

Power shortage is a development challenge that most developing countries often face, which not only brings negative impacts to firms' growth, but also has an impact on their environmental performance. In this study, a city-level power shortage index in China from 2008 to 2015 was used to investigate how electricity shortages can affect firms' carbon dioxide (CO2) emission intensity. We also examined the indirect impact of electricity shortages on CO2 emission intensity through three channels, namely, technological innovation, energy intensity and productivity. Our empirical results indicate that power shortages have a statistically significant positive impact on firms' CO2 emission intensity. The findings are robust to various robustness checks and endogeneity concern. The results verify the robustness of our proposed three mechanisms and imply that power shortages have an inhibitory effect on China's green and low-carbon transition in addition to their other well-known negative effects. Therefore, policymakers should consider the effect of power shortages on the energy transition in addition to the conventional negative impacts of power shortages on economic activities.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu, Jian & Liu, Peng & Fu, Dahai & Shi, Xunpeng, 2023. "How do power shortages affect CO2 emission intensity? Firm-level evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:282:y:2023:i:c:s0360544223023216
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2023.128927
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544223023216
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2023.128927?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wu, Qingyang & Wang, Yanying, 2022. "How does carbon emission price stimulate enterprises' total factor productivity? Insights from China's emission trading scheme pilots," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    2. Hailemariam, Abebe & Ivanovski, Kris & Dzhumashev, Ratbek, 2022. "Does R&D investment in renewable energy technologies reduce greenhouse gas emissions?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).
    3. Asiedu, Elizabeth & Azomahou, Théophile T. & Gaekwad, Neepa B. & Ouédraogo, Mahamady, 2021. "The determinants of electricity constraints by firms in developing countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    4. Fisher-Vanden, Karen & Mansur, Erin T. & Wang, Qiong (Juliana), 2015. "Electricity shortages and firm productivity: Evidence from China's industrial firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 172-188.
    5. Wang, Delu & Mao, Jinqi & Cui, Rong & Yu, Jian & Shi, Xunpeng, 2022. "Impact of inter-provincial power resource allocation on enterprise production behavior from a multi-scale correlation perspective," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    6. Zhi Da & Joseph Engelberg & Pengjie Gao, 2015. "Editor's Choice The Sum of All FEARS Investor Sentiment and Asset Prices," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(1), pages 1-32.
    7. Cui, Jingbo & Wang, Chunhua & Zhang, Junjie & Zheng, Yang, 2021. "The effectiveness of China’s regional carbon market pilots in reducing firm emissions," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113492, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Yu, Pei & Cai, Zhengfang & Sun, Yongping, 2021. "Does the emissions trading system in developing countries accelerate carbon leakage through OFDI? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    9. Ouyang, Xiaoling & Li, Qiong & Du, Kerui, 2020. "How does environmental regulation promote technological innovations in the industrial sector? Evidence from Chinese provincial panel data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    10. Hunt Allcott & Allan Collard-Wexler & Stephen D. O'Connell, 2016. "How Do Electricity Shortages Affect Industry? Evidence from India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(3), pages 587-624, March.
    11. Wang, Zongrun & Fu, Haiqin & Ren, Xiaohang, 2023. "Political connections and corporate carbon emission: New evidence from Chinese industrial firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    12. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Inekwe, John & Smyth, Russell & Zhang, Xibin, 2019. "R&D intensity and carbon emissions in the G7: 1870–2014," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 30-37.
    13. Haoqi Qian & Shaodan Xu & Jing Cao & Feizhou Ren & Wendong Wei & Jing Meng & Libo Wu, 2021. "Air pollution reduction and climate co-benefits in China’s industries," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 4(5), pages 417-425, May.
    14. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    15. Elliott, Robert J.R. & Nguyen-Tien, Viet & Strobl, Eric A., 2021. "Power outages and firm performance: A hydro-IV approach for a single electricity grid," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    16. Lamessa Tariku ABDISA, 2018. "Power Outages, its Economic Cost and Firm Performance: Evidence from Ethiopia," Departmental Working Papers 2018-01, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    17. DeVynne Farquharson & Paulina Jaramillo & Constantine Samaras, 2018. "Sustainability implications of electricity outages in sub-Saharan Africa," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 1(10), pages 589-597, October.
    18. Steinbuks, J. & Foster, V., 2010. "When do firms generate? Evidence on in-house electricity supply in Africa," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 505-514, May.
    19. Rjiba, Hatem & Thavaharan, Tharshan, 2022. "Female representation on boards and carbon emissions: International evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    20. Xinyue Hao & Fanglin Chen & Zhongfei Chen, 2022. "Does green innovation increase enterprise value?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 1232-1247, March.
    21. Morgan Hardy & Jamie McCasland, 2021. "Lights Off, Lights On: The Effects of Electricity Shortages on Small Firms," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(1), pages 19-33.
    22. Alam, Md. Samsul & Atif, Muhammad & Chien-Chi, Chu & Soytaş, Uğur, 2019. "Does corporate R&D investment affect firm environmental performance? Evidence from G-6 countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 401-411.
    23. James Levinsohn & Amil Petrin, 2003. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 317-341.
    24. Guo, Dongmei & Li, Qin & Liu, Peng & Shi, Xunpeng & Yu, Jian, 2023. "Power shortage and firm performance: Evidence from a Chinese city power shortage index," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    25. Cole, Matthew A. & Elliott, Robert J.R. & Occhiali, Giovanni & Strobl, Eric, 2018. "Power outages and firm performance in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 150-159.
    26. Fakih Ali & Ghazalian Pascal & Ghazzawi Nancy, 2020. "The Effects of Power Outages on the Performance of Manufacturing Firms in the MENA Region," Review of Middle East Economics and Finance, De Gruyter, vol. 16(3), pages 1-28, December.
    27. Haoqi Qian & Shaodan Xu & Jing Cao & Feizhou Ren & Wendong Wei & Jing Meng & Libo Wu, 2021. "Author Correction: Air pollution reduction and climate co-benefits in China’s industries," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 4(2), pages 188-188, February.
    28. Rud, Juan Pablo, 2012. "Electricity provision and industrial development: Evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 352-367.
    29. Yu, Jian & Shi, Xunpeng & Guo, Dongmei & Yang, Longjian, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and firm carbon emissions: Evidence using a China provincial EPU index," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    30. Ladu, Maria Gabriela & Meleddu, Marta, 2014. "Is there any relationship between energy and TFP (total factor productivity)? A panel cointegration approach for Italian regions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 560-567.
    31. Demena, Binyam Afewerk & Afesorgbor, Sylvanus Kwaku, 2020. "The effect of FDI on environmental emissions: Evidence from a meta-analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    32. Ama Baafra Abeberese & Charles Godfred Ackah & Patrick Opoku Asuming, 2021. "Productivity Losses and Firm Responses to Electricity Shortages: Evidence from Ghana," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(1), pages 1-18.
    33. Zhou, Qianling & Cui, Xiaoyong & Ni, Hongfu & Gong, Liutang, 2022. "The impact of environmental regulation policy on firms' energy-saving behavior: A quasi-natural experiment based on China's low-carbon pilot city policy," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    34. Xiao, Zumian & Gao, Juanhe & Wang, Zongshu & Yin, Zhichao & Xiang, Lijin, 2022. "Power shortage and firm productivity: Evidence from the World Bank Enterprise Survey," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    35. Philippe Alby & Jean-Jacques Dethier & Stéphane Straub, 2013. "Firms Operating under Electricity Constraints in Developing Countries," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 27(1), pages 109-132.
    36. Maruyama Rentschler,Jun Erik & Kornejew,Martin Gunter Michail & Hallegatte,Stephane & Braese,Johannes Michael & Obolensky,Marguerite Anne Beatrice, 2019. "Underutilized Potential : The Business Costs of Unreliable Infrastructure in Developing Countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8899, The World Bank.
    37. Freeman, Gerad M. & Apt, Jay & Moura, John, 2020. "What causes natural gas fuel shortages at U.S. power plants?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    38. Zhang, Yue-Jun & Peng, Yu-Lu & Ma, Chao-Qun & Shen, Bo, 2017. "Can environmental innovation facilitate carbon emissions reduction? Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 18-28.
    39. Grainger, Corbett A. & Zhang, Fan, 2019. "Electricity shortages and manufacturing productivity in Pakistan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 1000-1008.
    40. Lirong Chen & Siyi Liu & Xin Liu & Jiani Wang, 2022. "The Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme and Corporate Environmental Investments: A Quasi-natural Experiment from China," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(9), pages 2670-2681, July.
    41. Alam, Md Samsul & Safiullah, Md & Islam, Md Shahidul, 2022. "Cash-rich firms and carbon emissions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    42. Xian, Yujiao & Yu, Dan & Wang, Ke & Yu, Jian & Huang, Zhimin, 2022. "Capturing the least costly measure of CO2 emission abatement: Evidence from the iron and steel industry in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    43. Zhang, Sufang & Andrews-Speed, Philip & Ji, Meiyun, 2014. "The erratic path of the low-carbon transition in China: Evolution of solar PV policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 903-912.
    44. Zhang, Yanfang & Guo, Siyuan & Shi, Xunpeng & Qian, Xiangyan & Nie, Rui, 2021. "A market instrument to achieve carbon neutrality: Is China’s energy-consumption permit trading scheme effective?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yu, Jian & Liu, Peng & Shi, Xunpeng & Ai, Xianneng, 2023. "China’s emissions trading scheme, firms’ R&D investment and emissions reduction," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1021-1037.
    2. Hernández Soto, Gonzalo, 2024. "The role of foreign direct investment and green technologies in facilitating the transition toward green economies in Latin America," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guo, Dongmei & Li, Qin & Liu, Peng & Shi, Xunpeng & Yu, Jian, 2023. "Power shortage and firm performance: Evidence from a Chinese city power shortage index," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    2. Mohammad Abir Shahid Chowdhury & Shuai Chuanmin & Marcela Sokolová & ABM Munibur Rahman & Ahsan Akbar & Zahid Ali & Muhammad Usman, 2021. "Unveiling the Nexus between Access to Electricity, Firm Size and SME’s Performance in Bangladesh: New Evidence Using PSM," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    3. Abiodun, Kehinde & Gilbert, Ben, 2022. "Does universal electrification shield firms from productivity loss?," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    4. Edwin Teye Sosi & Philip Akrofi Atitianti, 2021. "How constraining are electricity fluctuations to Ghanaian firms’ performance?," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(11), pages 1-23, November.
    5. Greve, Hannes & Kis-Katos, Krisztina & Renner, Sebastian, 2021. "Energy prices, generators, and the (environmental) performance of manufacturing firms: Evidence from Indonesia," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242382, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. Mensah, Justice Tei, 2024. "Jobs! Electricity shortages and unemployment in Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    7. Singer, Gregor, 2024. "Complementary inputs and industrial development: can lower electricity prices improve energy efficiency?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122365, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Stephie Fried & David Lagakos, 2023. "Electricity and Firm Productivity: A General-Equilibrium Approach," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 67-103, October.
    9. Meeks, Robyn C. & Omuraliev, Arstan & Isaev, Ruslan & Wang, Zhenxuan, 2023. "Impacts of electricity quality improvements: Experimental evidence on infrastructure investments," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    10. Jamil, Faisal & Islam, Tanweer Ul, 2023. "Outage-induced power backup choice in Pakistan," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    11. Enrico Nano, 2022. "Electrifying Nigeria: the Impact of Rural Access to Electricity on Kids' Schooling," IHEID Working Papers 03-2022, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    12. Ghani, Ejaz & Goswami, Arti Grover & Kerr, William R., 2014. "Spatial dynamics of electricity usage in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7055, The World Bank.
    13. Simone Tagliapietra & Giovanni Occhiali & Enrico Nano & Robert Kalcik, 2020. "The impact of electrification on labour market outcomes in Nigeria," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 37(3), pages 737-779, October.
    14. Islam, Asif & Hyland, Marie, 2019. "The drivers and impacts of water infrastructure reliability – a global analysis of manufacturing firms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 143-157.
    15. Jacopo Bonan & Stefano Pareglio & Massimo Tavoni, 2014. "Access to Modern Energy: a Review of Impact Evaluations," Working Papers 2014.96, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    16. Deutschmann, Joshua W. & Postepska, Agnieszka & Sarr, Leopold, 2021. "Measuring willingness to pay for reliable electricity: Evidence from Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    17. Bajo-Buenestado, Raúl, 2021. "The effect of blackouts on household electrification status: Evidence from Kenya," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    18. Yu, Jian & Liu, Peng & Shi, Xunpeng & Ai, Xianneng, 2023. "China’s emissions trading scheme, firms’ R&D investment and emissions reduction," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1021-1037.
    19. Cole, Matthew A. & Elliott, Robert J.R. & Occhiali, Giovanni & Strobl, Eric, 2018. "Power outages and firm performance in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 150-159.
    20. Lin, Weifen & Tong, Xinyue & Hu, Yao & Wang, Hui, 2024. "The flow of industrial lifeblood: The impact of the West-to-East oil transportation project on enterprise performance of China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Power shortages; CO2 emission intensity; Technological innovation; Energy intensity; Total factor productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:282:y:2023:i:c:s0360544223023216. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.