IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i4p1174-d503857.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

COVID-19 Response and Prospects of Clean/Sustainable Energy Transition in Industrial Nations: New Environmental Assessment

Author

Listed:
  • Toshiyuki Sueyoshi

    (Department of Management, New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801, USA
    Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo Tech World Research Hub Initiative, School of Environment and Society, 3-3-6 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0023, Japan)

  • Youngbok Ryu

    (College of Professional Studies, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA)

  • Ji-Young Yun

    (School of Nursing, 525 N Wolfe Street, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA)

Abstract

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a pandemic around the world and has huge impacts on our economic and social systems, particularly on the healthcare system and the transportation and energy sectors. To examine a relationship between healthcare and energy sectors in the COVID-19 era, we propose a holistic application of Data Envelopment Analysis for Environmental Assessment (DEA-EA) to assess the COVID-19 response performance of 33 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations and investigate whether health insurance systems contribute to the performance. We also associate the performance with mobility, which is an energy consumption measure, to test the relationship through statistical analyses. In the DEA-EA, particularly, this study incorporates undesirable outputs (i.e., the number of confirmed cases and that of deaths) as well as desirable outputs (i.e., the number of total recovered people and that of total tested people) during April 2020 as the initial stage of COVID-19. While the former outputs need to be maximized, the latter ones need to be minimized in the assessment of healthcare system performance. This study finds that (a) the COVID-19 response performance of countries is varying and those with higher public health coverage have outperformed others with lower public coverage in terms of combating the COVID-19 outbreak, and (b) the healthcare system performance is significantly associated with mobility. Particularly, the second finding indicates that outperforming nations in the healthcare system are returning to the normal (with less volatility) while underperforming ones are still stagnating in terms of mobility. It implies that outperforming countries need to prepare for continuous commitment to clean/sustainable energy transition.

Suggested Citation

  • Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Youngbok Ryu & Ji-Young Yun, 2021. "COVID-19 Response and Prospects of Clean/Sustainable Energy Transition in Industrial Nations: New Environmental Assessment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-30, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:4:p:1174-:d:503857
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/4/1174/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/4/1174/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Oleksandr Melnychenko, 2021. "The Energy of Finance in Refining of Medical Surge Capacity," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Sepideh Abolghasem & Mehdi Toloo & Santiago Amézquita, 2019. "Cross-efficiency evaluation in the presence of flexible measures with an application to healthcare systems," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 512-533, September.
    3. Toth, Federico, 2016. "Classification of healthcare systems: Can we go further?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(5), pages 535-543.
    4. Stephen Snow & Richard Bean & Mashhuda Glencross & Neil Horrocks, 2020. "Drivers behind Residential Electricity Demand Fluctuations Due to COVID-19 Restrictions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-20, November.
    5. Bienvenido Ortega & Jesús Sanjuán & Antonio Casquero, 2017. "Determinants of efficiency in reducing child mortality in developing countries. The role of inequality and government effectiveness," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 500-516, December.
    6. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6neh4df2kq9orrjiscv6839f6n is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Böhm, Katharina & Schmid, Achim & Götze, Ralf & Landwehr, Claudia & Rothgang, Heinz, 2013. "Five types of OECD healthcare systems: Empirical results of a deductive classification," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(3), pages 258-269.
    8. B. Lahcen & J. Brusselaers & K. Vrancken & Y. Dams & C. Silva Paes & J. Eyckmans & S. Rousseau, 2020. "Green Recovery Policies for the COVID-19 Crisis: Modelling the Impact on the Economy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 731-750, August.
    9. Mario Coccia, 2020. "How ( Un )sustainable Environments Are Related to the Diffusion of COVID-19: The Relation between Coronavirus Disease 2019, Air Pollution, Wind Resource and Energy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-12, November.
    10. Forman, Rebecca & Atun, Rifat & McKee, Martin & Mossialos, Elias, 2020. "12 Lessons learned from the management of the coronavirus pandemic," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(6), pages 577-580.
    11. Paul Malliet & Frédéric Reynès & Gissela Landa & Meriem Hamdi-Cherif & Aurélien Saussay, 2020. "Assessing Short-Term and Long-Term Economic and Environmental Effects of the COVID-19 Crisis in France," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 867-883, August.
    12. Emilio Ghiani & Marco Galici & Mario Mureddu & Fabrizio Pilo, 2020. "Impact on Electricity Consumption and Market Pricing of Energy and Ancillary Services during Pandemic of COVID-19 in Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-19, July.
    13. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Yuan, Yan & Goto, Mika, 2017. "A literature study for DEA applied to energy and environment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 104-124.
    14. Jean Spinks & Bruce Hollingsworth, 2009. "Cross-country comparisons of technical efficiency of health production: a demonstration of pitfalls," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 417-427.
    15. A. Rashedi & Taslima Khanam & Mirjam Jonkman, 2020. "On Reduced Consumption of Fossil Fuels in 2020 and Its Consequences in Global Environment and Exergy Demand," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-14, November.
    16. Paola Clerici Maestosi & Maria Beatrice Andreucci & Paolo Civiero, 2021. "Sustainable Urban Areas for 2030 in a Post-COVID-19 Scenario: Focus on Innovative Research and Funding Frameworks to Boost Transition towards 100 Positive Energy Districts and 100 Climate-Neutral Citi," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, January.
    17. Wenxiao Chu & Francesco Calise & Neven Duić & Poul Alberg Østergaard & Maria Vicidomini & Qiuwang Wang, 2020. "Recent Advances in Technology, Strategy and Application of Sustainable Energy Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-29, October.
    18. Zanakis, Stelios H. & Alvarez, Cecilia & Li, Vivian, 2007. "Socio-economic determinants of HIV/AIDS pandemic and nations efficiencies," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 176(3), pages 1811-1838, February.
    19. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6neh4df2kq9orrjiscv6839f6n is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Honorata Nyga-Łukaszewska & Kentaka Aruga, 2020. "Energy Prices and COVID-Immunity: The Case of Crude Oil and Natural Gas Prices in the US and Japan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-17, November.
    21. Mohannad Alkhraijah & Maad Alowaifeer & Mansour Alsaleh & Anas Alfaris & Daniel K. Molzahn, 2021. "The Effects of Social Distancing on Electricity Demand Considering Temperature Dependency," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-14, January.
    22. Paul Malliet & Frédéric Reynès & Gissela Landa & Meriem Hamdi-Cherif & Aurélien Saussay, 2020. "Assessing Short-Term and Long-Term Economic and Environmental Effects of the COVID-19 Crisis in France," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 867-883, August.
    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. Omodero Cordelia Onyinyechi & Igodo Winner Ayanate & Adesuyi-Gideon Esther Opeyemi, 2024. "Trade Globalization, Overseas Investment, and Tax Revenue Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 18(1), pages 1-14.
    2. Long Yunan & Chen Man, 2024. "Analysis of a New Model of Economic Growth in Renewable Energy for Green Computing," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 18(1), pages 1-14.
    3. Radosław Łukasik & Tomasz Neumann, 2022. "Economic and Environmental Aspects of Engine Selection in Cargo Transportation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Anna Stankowska, 2022. "Sustainability Development: Assessment of Selected Indicators of Sustainable Energy Development in Poland and in Selected EU Member States Prior to COVID-19 and Following the Third Wave of COVID-19," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-23, March.
    5. Serenella Caravella & Valeria Costantini & Francesco Crespi, 2021. "Mission-Oriented Policies and Technological Sovereignty: The Case of Climate Mitigation Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    6. Youngbok Ryu & Toshiyuki Sueyoshi, 2021. "Examining the Relationship between the Economic Performance of Technology-Based Small Suppliers and Socially Sustainable Procurement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-23, June.
    7. Muhammad Rafiq & Ahsan Akbar & Saif Maqbool & Marcela Sokolová & Syed Arslan Haider & Shumaila Naz & Syed Muhammad Danish, 2022. "Corporate Risk Tolerance and Acceptability towards Sustainable Energy Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-19, January.
    8. Marek Ochowiak & Andżelika Krupińska & Sylwia Włodarczak & Magdalena Matuszak & Szymon Woziwodzki & Tomasz Szulc, 2021. "Analysis of the Possibility of Disinfecting Surfaces Using Portable Foggers in the Era of the SARS-CoV-2 Epidemic," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-10, April.
    9. Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Mika Goto, 2021. "Performance Assessment of Japanese Electricity and Gas Companies during 2002–2018: Three DEA Approaches," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, March.
    10. Elena G. Popkova & Bruno S. Sergi, 2024. "The World Economy’s Development After the COVID-19 Crisis: Sustainability and Stability vs. Quick Digital Growth," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 5599-5607, June.
    11. Tomasz Wołowiec & Iuliia Myroshnychenko & Ihor Vakulenko & Sylwester Bogacki & Anna Maria Wiśniewska & Svitlana Kolosok & Vitaliy Yunger, 2022. "International Impact of COVID-19 on Energy Economics and Environmental Pollution: A Scoping Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-26, November.
    12. Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Youngbok Ryu, 2021. "Environmental Assessment and Sustainable Development in the United States," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-23, February.

    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. Indre Siksnelyte-Butkiene, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic to the Sustainability of the Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Liu, Li-Jing & Yao, Yun-Fei & Liang, Qiao-Mei & Qian, Xiang-Yan & Xu, Chun-Lei & Wei, Si-Yi & Creutzig, Felix & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2021. "Combining economic recovery with climate change mitigation: A global evaluation of financial instruments," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 438-453.
    3. Feng, Chun-Chiang & Chang, Kuei-Feng & Lin, Jin-Xu & Lee, Tsung-Chen & Lin, Shih-Mo, 2022. "Toward green transition in the post Paris Agreement era: The case of Taiwan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    4. Cassetti, Gabriele & Boitier, Baptiste & Elia, Alessia & Le Mouël, Pierre & Gargiulo, Maurizio & Zagamé, Paul & Nikas, Alexandros & Koasidis, Konstantinos & Doukas, Haris & Chiodi, Alessandro, 2023. "The interplay among COVID-19 economic recovery, behavioural changes, and the European Green Deal: An energy-economic modelling perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PC).
    5. Shehabi, Manal, 2022. "Modeling long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and oil price declines on Gulf oil economies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    6. Cerqueira, Pedro André & Pereira da Silva, Patrícia, 2023. "Assessment of the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on electricity consumption – Evidence from Portugal and Spain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    7. Jiang, Shiqi & Lin, Xinyue & Qi, Lingli & Zhang, Yongqiang & Sharp, Basil, 2022. "The macro-economic and CO2 emissions impacts of COVID-19 and recovery policies in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 981-996.
    8. Matthias Klumpp & Dominic Loske & Silvio Bicciato, 2022. "COVID-19 health policy evaluation: integrating health and economic perspectives with a data envelopment analysis approach," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(8), pages 1263-1285, November.
    9. Bazzana, Davide & Cohen, Jed J. & Golinucci, Nicolò & Hafner, Manfred & Noussan, Michel & Reichl, Johannes & Rocco, Matteo Vincenzo & Sciullo, Alessandro & Vergalli, Sergio, 2022. "A multi-disciplinary approach to estimate the medium-term impact of COVID-19 on transport and energy: A case study for Italy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PC).
    10. Jia, Zhijie & Wen, Shiyan & Lin, Boqiang, 2021. "The effects and reacts of COVID-19 pandemic and international oil price on energy, economy, and environment in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    11. Lazo, Joaquín & Aguirre, Gerson & Watts, David, 2022. "An impact study of COVID-19 on the electricity sector: A comprehensive literature review and Ibero-American survey," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    12. Beata Bieszk-Stolorz & Iwona Markowicz, 2021. "Decline in Share Prices of Energy and Fuel Companies on the Warsaw Stock Exchange as a Reaction to the COVID-19 Pandemic," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-17, August.
    13. Roberto Roson & Camille Vorst, 2023. "Assessing the economic and environmental consequences of the COVID-19 tourism collapse in Andalusia: what lessons can we draw for South-East Asian regions?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 71(1), pages 269-297, August.
    14. Imen Khanchel & Naima Lassoued & Rym Gargoury, 2023. "CSR and firm value: is CSR valuable during the COVID 19 crisis in the French market?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(2), pages 575-601, June.
    15. Yukseltan, E. & Kok, A. & Yucekaya, A. & Bilge, A. & Aktunc, E. Agca & Hekimoglu, M., 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and behavioral restrictions on electricity consumption and the daily demand curve in Turkey," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    16. Alvaro S Almeida, 2016. "The Role Of Private Non-Profit Healthcare Organizations In Nhs Systems: Implications For The Portuguese Hospital Devolution Program," FEP Working Papers 577, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    17. Martina Pilloni & József Kádár & Tareq Abu Hamed, 2022. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Energy Start-Up Companies: The Use of Global Financial Crisis (GFC) as a Lesson for Future Recovery," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-15, May.
    18. Joana Cima & Alvaro S Almeida, 2018. "Health Expenditure, GDP Growth and the Financial Crisis: A Panel Data Analysis for OECD European Countries," FEP Working Papers 602, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    19. Zhikang Xie & Xinglin Liu & Hina Najam & Qinghua Fu & Jawad Abbas & Ubaldo Comite & Laura Mariana Cismas & Andra Miculescu, 2022. "Achieving Financial Sustainability through Revenue Diversification: A Green Pathway for Financial Institutions in Asia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-16, March.
    20. Dilara Sülün, 2020. "The Impact of Covid-19 on France’s Economy with an Overview on The European Economy," Journal of Research in Economics, Politics & Finance, Ersan ERSOY, vol. 5(SI), pages 115-136.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:4:p:1174-:d:503857. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.