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The Survival of the Energy-Fittest: Evidence from French Manufacturing Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Ara Jo
  • Sébastien Houde

Abstract

This paper disentangles the roles of within-firm improvement and between-firm selection and market reallocation in determining aggregate energy intensity. Our analysis shows that selection and market reallocation play a stronger role than within-firm improvement in driving aggregate declines in energy intensity, despite the strong focus on within-firm response to climate policy measures in the existing empirical literature. We also find that these mechanisms, in particular the selection channel, can be leveraged by environmental policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Ara Jo & Sébastien Houde, 2026. "The Survival of the Energy-Fittest: Evidence from French Manufacturing Firms," CESifo Working Paper Series 12695, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12695
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • Q40 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - General
    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • L50 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - General

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