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Energy transitions and technology change: “Leapfrogging” reconsidered

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  • Fetter, T. Robert

Abstract

Understanding the relationship of economic growth, energy consumption, and pollution is critical for forecasting energy demand and environmental impacts. Energy technology innovations create opportunities for low- and middle-income countries to “leapfrog” over older technologies that dominated the development paths of today’s industrialized countries. Yet technology change may also increase consumption at earlier development stages, and institutions and policy choices can hinder energy-efficient development. Extending a recent paper by van Benthem (2015), I build a panel dataset over 136 countries and nearly 60 years to show that over this wider and longer panel, the long-run energy intensity of economic growth is substantially lower for today’s developing countries than in developing countries in the past.

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  • Fetter, T. Robert, 2022. "Energy transitions and technology change: “Leapfrogging” reconsidered," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:resene:v:70:y:2022:i:c:s0928765522000446
    DOI: 10.1016/j.reseneeco.2022.101327
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lu, Ling & Liu, Peng & Yu, Jian & Shi, Xunpeng, 2023. "Digital inclusive finance and energy transition towards carbon neutrality: Evidence from Chinese firms," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PB).
    2. Juliette Caucheteux & Sam Fankhauser & Sugandha Srivastav, 2025. "Climate Change Mitigation Policies for Developing Countries," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(1), pages 69-89.
    3. Namahoro, Jean Pierre & Wu, Qiaosheng & Ihimbabzwe, Beatrice & Yang, Cheng, 2025. "Mineral resources and investment drive clean energy progress: Evidence from economic and governance effectiveness tiers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O44 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Environment and Growth
    • Q47 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy Forecasting
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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