IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/rffdps/10616.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Technology Adoption and Aggregate Energy Efficiency

Author

Listed:
  • Pizer, William A.
  • Harrington, Winston
  • Kopp, Raymond J.
  • Morgenstern, Richard D.
  • Shih, Jhih-Shyang

Abstract

Improved technology is often cited as a means to alter the otherwise difficult trade-off between the economic burden of regulation and environmental damage. Focusing on energy-saving technologies that mitigate the threat of climate change, we find that both energy prices and financial health influence technology adoption among a sample of industrial plants in four heavily polluting sectors. Based on a model linking technology adoption to growth in aggregate efficiency, we estimate that a doubling of energy prices, after raising the growth rate to 2.1%, would require slightly more than 50 years to generate a 50% improvement in aggregate efficiency relative to the baseline forecast.

Suggested Citation

  • Pizer, William A. & Harrington, Winston & Kopp, Raymond J. & Morgenstern, Richard D. & Shih, Jhih-Shyang, 2002. "Technology Adoption and Aggregate Energy Efficiency," Discussion Papers 10616, Resources for the Future.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:rffdps:10616
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.10616
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/10616/files/dp020052.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.10616?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
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard D. Morgenstern & William A. Pizer & Jhih-Shyang Shih, 2001. "The Cost Of Environmental Protection," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(4), pages 732-738, November.
    2. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 407-443.
    3. Davies, Stephen W., 1979. "Inter-firm diffusion of process innovations," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 299-317, October.
    4. Jaffe, Adam B. & Stavins, Robert N., 1994. "The energy paradox and the diffusion of conservation technology," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 91-122, May.
    5. Cohen, Wesley M. & Levin, Richard C., 1989. "Empirical studies of innovation and market structure," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 18, pages 1059-1107, Elsevier.
    6. Sharon Oster, 1982. "The Diffusion of Innovation among Steel Firms: The Basic Oxygen Furnace," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(1), pages 45-56, Spring.
    7. Gale A. Boyd & Stephen H. Karlson, 1993. "The Impact of Energy Prices on Technology Choice in the United States Steel Industry," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), pages 47-56.
    8. Levin, Sharon G & Levin, Stanford L & Meisel, John B, 1987. "A Dynamic Analysis of the Adoption of a New Technology: The Case of Optical Scanners," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(1), pages 12-17, February.
    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. Spyros Arvanitis & Marius Ley, 2013. "Factors Determining the Adoption of Energy-Saving Technologies in Swiss Firms: An Analysis Based on Micro Data," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 54(3), pages 389-417, March.
    2. Joshua Linn, 2008. "Energy Prices and the Adoption of Energy-Saving Technology," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(533), pages 1986-2012, November.
    3. Popp, David & Newell, Richard G. & Jaffe, Adam B., 2010. "Energy, the Environment, and Technological Change," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 873-937, Elsevier.
    4. Åsa L�fgren & Markus Wr�ke & Tomas Hagberg & Susanna Roth, 2014. "Why the EU ETS needs reforming: an empirical analysis of the impact on company investments," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(5), pages 537-558, September.
    5. Adam B. Jaffe & Richard G. Newell & Robert N. Stavins, 2000. "Technological Change and the Environment," NBER Working Papers 7970, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Clara Inés Pardo Martínez, 2010. "Investments and Energy Efficiency in Colombian Manufacturing Industries," Energy & Environment, , vol. 21(6), pages 545-562, October.
    7. Garrone, Paola & Grilli, Luca, 2010. "Is there a relationship between public expenditures in energy R&D and carbon emissions per GDP? An empirical investigation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5600-5613, October.
    8. Lawrence, Akvile & Karlsson, Magnus & Nehler, Therese & Thollander, Patrik, 2019. "Effects of monetary investment, payback time and firm characteristics on electricity saving in energy-intensive industry," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C), pages 499-512.
    9. Liu, Xianbing & Niu, Dongjie & Bao, Cunkuan & Suk, Sunhee & Sudo, Kinichi, 2013. "Affordability of energy cost increases for companies due to market-based climate policies: A survey in Taicang, China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1464-1476.
    10. Triguero, Angela & Moreno-Mondéjar, Lourdes & Davia, María A., 2014. "The influence of energy prices on adoption of clean technologies and recycling: Evidence from European SMEs," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 246-257.
    11. Kounetas, Kostas & Tsekouras, Kostas, 2008. "The energy efficiency paradox revisited through a partial observability approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 2517-2536, September.
    12. Löfgren, Åsa & Wråke, Markus & Hagberg, Tomas & Roth, Susanna, 2013. "The Effect of EU-ETS on Swedish Industry's Investment in Carbon Mitigating Technologies," Working Papers in Economics 565, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    13. Spyros Arvanitis & Marius Christian Ley, 2010. "Factors Determining the Adoption of Energy-saving Technologies in Swiss Firms," KOF Working papers 10-257, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    14. Nyga-Łukaszewska Honorata, 2016. "Selected Issues in Innovation in the Energy Industry. The Case of Poland," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 50(1), pages 100-112, June.
    15. Bonilla, David, 2007. "Fuel Price Changes and the Adoption of Cogeneration in the U.K. and Netherlands," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 20(7), pages 59-71.
    16. Jaffe, Adam B. & Newell, Richard G. & Stavins, Robert N., 2003. "Chapter 11 Technological change and the environment," Handbook of Environmental Economics, in: K. G. Mäler & J. R. Vincent (ed.), Handbook of Environmental Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 11, pages 461-516, Elsevier.
    17. Liu, Xianbing & Fan, Yongbin & Li, Chen, 2016. "Carbon pricing for low carbon technology diffusion: A survey analysis of China's cement industry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 73-86.
    18. Felix Groba & Barbara Breitschopf, 2013. "Impact of Renewable Energy Policy and Use on Innovation: A Literature Review," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1318, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    19. Bonilla, Jorge & Coria, Jessica & Mohlin, Kristina & Sterner, Thomas, 2014. "Diffusion of NOx abatement technologies in Sweden," Working Papers in Economics 585, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    20. Damien Dussaux, 2020. "The joint effects of energy prices and carbon taxes on environmental and economic performance: Evidence from the French manufacturing sector," OECD Environment Working Papers 154, OECD Publishing.
    21. Lawrence, Akvile & Karlsson, Magnus & Thollander, Patrik, 2018. "Effects of firm characteristics and energy management for improving energy efficiency in the pulp and paper industry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 825-835.
    22. Stefan Schleicher & Claudia Kettner-Marx & Angela Köppl & Barbara Anzinger & Bernhard Cemper & Andreas Türk & Andreas Karner, 2011. "Analysis of Options to Move Beyond 20 Percent Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions. Background and Evaluation of Impact Documents," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 41607.
    23. Hammar, Henrik & Löfgren, Åsa, 2010. "Explaining adoption of end of pipe solutions and clean technologies--Determinants of firms' investments for reducing emissions to air in four sectors in Sweden," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 3644-3651, July.

    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. Jaffe, Adam B. & Newell, Richard G. & Stavins, Robert N., 2003. "Chapter 11 Technological change and the environment," Handbook of Environmental Economics, in: K. G. Mäler & J. R. Vincent (ed.), Handbook of Environmental Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 11, pages 461-516, Elsevier.
    2. Stavins, Robert & Jaffe, Adam & Newell, Richard, 2000. "Technological Change and the Environment," Working Paper Series rwp00-002, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    3. van Dijk, Michiel & Szirmai, Adam, 2006. "Industrial Policy and Technology Diffusion: Evidence from Paper Making Machinery in Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2137-2152, December.
    4. Gomez, Jaime & Vargas, Pilar, 2009. "The effect of financial constraints, absorptive capacity and complementarities on the adoption of multiple process technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 106-119, February.
    5. Jalal Akhavein & W. Scott Frame & Lawrence J. White, 2005. "The Diffusion of Financial Innovations: An Examination of the Adoption of Small Business Credit Scoring by Large Banking Organizations," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(2), pages 577-596, March.
    6. Baldwin, John R. & Raffiquzzaman, Mohammed, 1998. "The Determinants of the Adoption Lag for Advanced Manufacturing Technologies," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 1998117e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    7. Rui Baptista, 1999. "The Diffusion of Process Innovations: A Selective Review," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 107-129.
    8. Burton, Michael P. & Rigby, Dan & Young, Trevor, 2003. "Modelling the adoption of organic horticultural technology in the UK using Duration Analysis," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 47(1), pages 1-26, March.
    9. Cantono, Simona, 2012. "Unveiling diffusion dynamics: an autocatalytic percolation model of environmental innovation diffusion and the optimal dynamic path of adoption subsidies," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 201222, University of Turin.
    10. Spyros Arvanitis & Michael Peneder & Christian Rammer & Tobias Stucki & Martin Wörter, 2016. "The adoption of green energy technologies: The role of policies in an international comparison," KOF Working papers 16-411, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    11. Geroski, P. A., 2000. "Models of technology diffusion," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4-5), pages 603-625, April.
    12. Suzi Kerr & Richard G. Newell, 2003. "Policy‐Induced Technology Adoption: Evidence from the U.S. Lead Phasedown," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 317-343, September.
    13. Katja Seim & V. Brian Viard, 2011. "The Effect of Market Structure on Cellular Technology Adoption and Pricing," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 221-251, May.
    14. Bocquet, Rachel & Brossard, Olivier & Sabatier, Mareva, 2007. "Complementarities in organizational design and the diffusion of information technologies: An empirical analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 367-386, April.
    15. Stoneman, Paul & Battisti, Giuliana, 2010. "The Diffusion of New Technology," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 733-760, Elsevier.
    16. Majumdar, Sumit K., 2000. "With a little help from my friends? Cross-subsidy and installed-base quality in the U.S. telecommunications industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 445-470, April.
    17. Adam Jaffe & Richard Newell & Robert Stavins, 2002. "Environmental Policy and Technological Change," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 22(1), pages 41-70, June.
    18. Stephen Ayerst, 2016. "Idiosyncratic Distortions and Technology Adoption," Working Papers tecipa-571, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    19. John M. Barron & Kathy Paulson Gjerde, 1996. "Who Adopts Total Quality Management (TQM): Theory and An Empirical Test," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(1), pages 69-106, March.
    20. Buzzacchi, Luigi & Colombo, Massimo G. & Mariotti, Sergio, 1995. "Technological regimes and innovation in services: the case of the Italian banking industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 151-168, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies;

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • Q43 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy and the Macroeconomy
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy

    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:ags:rffdps:10616. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rffffus.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.