IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/abn/wpaper/auwp2025-10.html

Total Factor Productivity with Energy as a Factor of Production

Author

Listed:
  • Nazif Durmaz
  • Farhad Rassekh
  • Henry Thompson

Abstract

The present paper estimates total factor productivity TFP for the United States with 74 years of data including primary energy as a factor of production along with fixed capital assets and the labor force. The inclusion of energy improves the empirics of the neoclassical production function. In differences of natural logs, energy doubles the explanatory power and reduces residual correlation as well as heteroscedasticity. In addition, energy reduces the mean and variance of the Solow residual leading to a slower cumulative effect. In the growth accounting literature, to calculate TFP, the weight of 0.3 is commonly assigned to capital and 0.7 to labor. Our estimation suggests that these weights should be adjusted to make room for an energy weight of 0.07.

Suggested Citation

  • Nazif Durmaz & Farhad Rassekh & Henry Thompson, 2025. "Total Factor Productivity with Energy as a Factor of Production," Auburn Economics Working Paper Series auwp2025-10, Department of Economics, Auburn University.
    • Handle: RePEc:abn:wpaper:auwp2025-10
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://cla.auburn.edu/econwp/Archives/2025/2025-10.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philippe Aghion & Diego Comin & Peter Howitt & Isabel Tecu, 2016. "When Does Domestic Savings Matter for Economic Growth?," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 64(3), pages 381-407, August.
    2. Richard Lipsey & Kenneth Carlaw, 2004. "Total factor productivity and the measurement of technological change," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 37(4), pages 1118-1150, November.
    3. David I. Stern and Astrid Kander, 2012. "The Role of Energy in the Industrial Revolution and Modern Economic Growth," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    4. Edmund Phelps, 2015. "Mass Flourishing: How Grassroots Innovation Created Jobs, Challenge, and Change," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 10058-2.
    5. Daron Acemoglu & Philippe Aghion & Leonardo Bursztyn & David Hemous, 2012. "The Environment and Directed Technical Change," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 131-166, February.
    6. Mulder, Peter & de Groot, Henri L.F., 2012. "Structural change and convergence of energy intensity across OECD countries, 1970–2005," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1910-1921.
    7. Halmai Peter & Vasary Viktoria, 2009. "Economic Growth and Convergence in the European Union," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1, pages 171-188, May.
    8. Moses Abramovitz, 1956. "Resource and Output Trends in the United States since 1870," NBER Chapters, in: Resource and Output Trends in the United States since 1870, pages 1-23, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Huang, Junbing & Cai, Xiaochen & Huang, Shuo & Tian, Sen & Lei, Hongyan, 2019. "Technological factors and total factor productivity in China: Evidence based on a panel threshold model," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 271-285.
    10. Robert J. Gordon, 2016. "Perspectives on The Rise and Fall of American Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 72-76, May.
    11. Philippe Aghion & Peter Howitt, 2009. "The Economics of Growth," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 9780262012638, December.
    12. Moses Abramovitz, 1956. "Resource and Output Trends in the United States since 1870," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number abra56-1, September.
    13. Popp, David C., 2001. "The effect of new technology on energy consumption," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 215-239, July.
    14. Thompson, Henry, 2016. "A physical production function for the US economy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 185-189.
    15. Chou, Yen-Chun & Hao-Chun Chuang, Howard & Shao, Benjamin B.M., 2014. "The impacts of information technology on total factor productivity: A look at externalities and innovations," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 290-299.
    16. Zhang, Xing-Ping & Cheng, Xiao-Mei, 2009. "Energy consumption, carbon emissions, and economic growth in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2706-2712, August.
    17. D. W. Jorgenson & Z. Griliches, 1967. "The Explanation of Productivity Change," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 34(3), pages 249-283.
    18. Harty D. Saunders, 1992. "The Khazzoom-Brookes Postulate and Neoclassical Growth," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4), pages 131-148.
    19. Liddle, Brantley, 2012. "The importance of energy quality in energy intensive manufacturing: Evidence from panel cointegration and panel FMOLS," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1819-1825.
    20. Harry D. Saunders, 1992. "The Khazzoom-Brookes Postulate and Neoclassical Growth," The Energy Journal, , vol. 13(4), pages 131-148, October.
    21. Steven N. Durlauf & Paul A. Johnson & Jonathan R. W. Temple, 2009. "The Methods of Growth Econometrics," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Terence C. Mills & Kerry Patterson (ed.), Palgrave Handbook of Econometrics, chapter 24, pages 1119-1179, Palgrave Macmillan.
    22. Berndt, Ernst R & Wood, David O, 1979. "Engineering and Econometric Interpretations of Energy-Capital Complementarity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(3), pages 342-354, June.
    23. Ur Rehman, Faheem & Islam, Md. Monirul, 2023. "Does energy infrastructure spur total factor productivity (TFP) in middle-income economies? An application of a novel energy infrastructure index," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Santos, João & Domingos, Tiago & Sousa, Tânia & St. Aubyn, Miguel, 2018. "Useful Exergy Is Key in Obtaining Plausible Aggregate Production Functions and Recognizing the Role of Energy in Economic Growth: Portugal 1960–2009," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 103-120.
    2. Alessandro Bellocchi & Giuseppe Travaglini & Beatrice Vitali, 2023. "How capital intensity affects technical progress: An empirical analysis for 17 advanced economies," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(3), pages 606-631, July.
    3. Santos, João & Sousa, Tânia & Serrenho, André & Domingos, Tiago, 2025. "An aggregate price for energy services: Useful exergy as an intermediate flow in a two-sector model of the economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    4. Victor Court, 2018. "Energy Capture, Technological Change, and Economic Growth: An Evolutionary Perspective," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 1-27, September.
    5. Santos, João & Domingos, Tiago & Sousa, Tânia & St. Aubyn, Miguel, 2016. "Does a small cost share reflect a negligible role for energy in economic production? Testing for aggregate production functions including capital, labor, and useful exergy through a cointegration-base," MPRA Paper 70850, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Kumar, Sanjesh & Singh, Baljeet, 2019. "Barriers to the international diffusion of technological innovations," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 74-86.
    7. Ceyhun Elgin & Selman Çakır, 2015. "Technological progress and scientific indicators: a panel data analysis," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 263-281, April.
    8. Ufuk Akcigit & Sina T. Ates & Giammario Impullitti, 2018. "Innovation and Trade Policy in a Globalized World," NBER Working Papers 24543, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Campiglio, Emanuele & Spiganti, Alessandro & Wiskich, Anthony, 2024. "Clean innovation, heterogeneous financing costs, and the optimal climate policy mix," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    10. Eric A. Hanushek & Jens Ruhose & Ludger Woessmann, 2015. "Economic Gains for U.S. States from Educational Reform," NBER Working Papers 21770, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Emanuele Campiglio & Alessandro Spiganti & Anthony Wiskich, 2023. "Clean innovation and heterogeneous financing costs," Working Papers 2023: 07, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    12. Emmanuel Bovari & Victor Court, 2019. "Energy, knowledge, and demo-economic development in the long run: a unified growth model," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01698755, HAL.
    13. Wang, Yong, 2022. "Market structure, factor endowment, and technology adoption," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    14. Irena Raguž Krištiæ & Ivo Družiæ & Josip Tica, 2016. "Impact of the transition on the total factor productivity in Croatia," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 34(2), pages 271-308.
    15. Ian Goldin & Pantelis Koutroumpis & François Lafond & Julian Winkler, 2024. "Why Is Productivity Slowing Down?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 196-268, March.
    16. Paul E. Brockway & Matthew K. Heun & João Santos & John R. Barrett, 2017. "Energy-Extended CES Aggregate Production: Current Aspects of Their Specification and Econometric Estimation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-23, February.
    17. Philippe Aghion & Antonin Bergeaud & Matthieu Lequien & Marc J. Melitz & Thomas Zuber, 2021. "Opposing firm-level responses to the China shock: horizontal competition versus vertical relationships," CEP Discussion Papers dp1787, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    18. Nicholas Crafts & Pieter Woltjer, 2021. "Growth Accounting In Economic History: Findings, Lessons And New Directions," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 670-696, July.
    19. Maria Alejandra Torres Le√≥n, 2022. "Go green or go home? Energy transition, directed technical change and wage inequalit," Documentos CEDE 20104, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    20. Malcolm Abbott, 2018. "Productivity: a history of its measurement," HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT AND POLICY, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2018(1), pages 57-80.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:abn:wpaper:auwp2025-10. 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: Hyeongwoo Kim (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deaubus.html .

    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.