IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/6551.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Factors influencing energy intensity in four Chinese industries

Author

Listed:
  • Fisher-Vanden, Karen
  • Hu, Yong
  • Jefferson, Gary
  • Rock, Michael
  • Toman, Michael

Abstract

Energy intensity has declined significantly in four Chinese industries -- pulp and paper; cement; iron and steel; and aluminum. While previous studies have identified technological change within an industry to be an important influence on energy intensity, few have examined how industry-specific policies and market factors also affect industry-level intensity. This paper employs unique firm-level data from China's most energy-intensive large and medium-size industrial enterprises in each of these four industries over a six-year period from 1999 to 2004. It empirically examines how China's energy-saving programs, liberalization of domestic markets, openness to the world economy, and other policies, contribute to the decline in energy intensity in these industries. The results suggest that rising energy costs are a significant contributor to the decline in energy intensity in all four industries. China's industrial policies targeting scale economies -- for example,"grasping the large, letting go off the small"-- also seem to have contributed to reductions in energy intensity in these four industries. However, the results also suggest that trade openness and technology development led to declines in energy intensity in only one or two of these industries. Finally, the analysis finds that energy intensities vary among firms with different ownership types and regional locations.

Suggested Citation

  • Fisher-Vanden, Karen & Hu, Yong & Jefferson, Gary & Rock, Michael & Toman, Michael, 2013. "Factors influencing energy intensity in four Chinese industries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6551, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6551
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2013/07/30/000158349_20130730085831/Rendered/PDF/WPS6551.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fan, Ying & Liao, Hua & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2007. "Can market oriented economic reforms contribute to energy efficiency improvement? Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 2287-2295, April.
    2. Richard F. Garbaccio & Mun S. Ho & Dale W. Jorgenson, 1999. "Why Has the Energy-Output Ratio Fallen in China?," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3), pages 63-91.
    3. Zheng, Yingmei & Qi, Jianhong & Chen, Xiaoliang, 2011. "The effect of increasing exports on industrial energy intensity in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2688-2698, May.
    4. Hang, Leiming & Tu, Meizeng, 2007. "The impacts of energy prices on energy intensity: Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 2978-2988, May.
    5. Kinoshita, Yuko, 2001. "R&D and Technology Spillovers through FDI: Innovation and Absorptive Capacity," CEPR Discussion Papers 2775, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Michael T. Rock, 2012. "What can Indonesia learn from China's industrial energy saving programs?," Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 33-55, April.
    7. Wei, Yi-Ming & Liao, Hua & Fan, Ying, 2007. "An empirical analysis of energy efficiency in China's iron and steel sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2262-2270.
    8. Fisher-Vanden, Karen, 2009. "Energy in China: Understanding Past Trends and Future Directions," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 3(3), pages 217-244, December.
    9. Mielnik, Otavio & Goldemberg, Jose, 2002. "Foreign direct investment and decoupling between energy and gross domestic product in developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 87-89, January.
    10. Sinton, Jonathan E & Levine, Mark D & Qingyi, Wang, 1998. "Energy efficiency in China: accomplishments and challenges," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(11), pages 813-829, September.
    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. Victor Ajayi & David Reiner, 2018. "European Industrial Energy Intensity: The Role of Innovation 1995-2009," Working Papers EPRG 1818, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    2. Le Tang, 2020. "Energy prices and investment in energy efficiency: evidence from Chinese industry 1997–2004," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 34(2), pages 93-105, November.
    3. Liu, Liang & Yang, Kun & Fujii, Hidemichi & Liu, Jun, 2021. "Artificial intelligence and energy intensity in China’s industrial sector: Effect and transmission channel," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 276-293.
    4. Bhat, Javed Ahmad & Haider, Salman & Kamaiah, Bandi, 2018. "Interstate energy efficiency of Indian paper industry: A slack-based non-parametric approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 284-298.
    5. Lu & Pollitt, M. G. & Wang, K. & Wei, Y-M., 2023. "The Incremental Impact of China's Carbon," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2349, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    6. Singer, Gregor, 2024. "Complementary inputs and industrial development: can lower electricity prices improve energy efficiency?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122365, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Xiekui Zhang & Peiyao Liu & Hongfei Zhu, 2022. "The Impact of Industrial Intelligence on Energy Intensity: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-16, June.
    8. Cui, Huanyu & Cao, Yuequn, 2023. "How can market-oriented environmental regulation improve urban energy efficiency? Evidence from quasi-experiment in China's SO2 trading emissions system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    9. Mei Lu & Michael G. Pollitt & Ke Wang & Yi-Ming Wei, 2023. "The incremental impact of China’s carbon trading pilots," Working Papers EPRG2316, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    10. Bożena Gajdzik & Włodzimierz Sroka & Jolita Vveinhardt, 2021. "Energy Intensity of Steel Manufactured Utilising EAF Technology as a Function of Investments Made: The Case of the Steel Industry in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.
    11. Egidijus Norvaiša & Viktorija Bobinaitė & Inga Konstantinavičiūtė & Vaclovas Miškinis, 2024. "Energy Intensity Forecasting Models for Manufacturing Industries of “Catching Up” Economies: Lithuanian Case," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-34, June.
    12. Wu, Ya & Su, JingRong & Li, Ke & Sun, Chuanwang, 2019. "Comparative study on power efficiency of China's provincial steel industry and its influencing factors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 1009-1020.
    13. Tang, Le & Jefferson, Gary, 2024. "A DSGE model of energy efficiency with vintage capital in Chinese industry," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    14. Iris Claus & Les Oxley & Siqi Zheng & Cong Sun & Ye Qi & Matthew E. Kahn, 2014. "The Evolving Geography Of China'S Industrial Production: Implications For Pollution Dynamics And Urban Quality Of Life," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 709-724, September.
    15. Isabelle Cadoret & Fabio Padovano, 2018. "Derterminants and consequences of the stringency of environmental policies: an empirical test," Economics Working Paper from Condorcet Center for political Economy at CREM-CNRS 2018-04-ccr, Condorcet Center for political Economy.
    16. Wang, En-Ze & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Li, Yaya, 2022. "Assessing the impact of industrial robots on manufacturing energy intensity in 38 countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    17. Shuxing Chen & Xiangyang Du & Junbing Huang & Cheng Huang, 2019. "The Impact of Foreign and Indigenous Innovations on the Energy Intensity of China’s Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-18, February.
    18. Haider, Salman & Danish, Mohd Shadab & Sharma, Ruchi, 2019. "Assessing energy efficiency of Indian paper industry and influencing factors: A slack-based firm-level analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 454-464.
    19. Si, Shuyang & Lyu, Mingjie & Lin Lawell, C.-Y. Cynthia & Chen, Song, 2018. "The effects of energy-related policies on energy consumption in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 202-227.
    20. Zhang, Xiaoyu & Zhou, Jinlan & Du, Xiaodong, 2022. "Impact of oil price uncertainty shocks on China’s macro-economy," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

    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. Adom, Philip Kofi, 2015. "Business cycle and economic-wide energy intensity: The implications for energy conservation policy in Algeria," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 334-350.
    2. Ma, Hengyun & Oxley, Les & Gibson, John, 2009. "Substitution possibilities and determinants of energy intensity for China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1793-1804, May.
    3. Huang, Junbing & Du, Dan & Tao, Qizhi, 2017. "An analysis of technological factors and energy intensity in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 1-9.
    4. Yan, Huijie, 2015. "Provincial energy intensity in China: The role of urbanization," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 635-650.
    5. Adom, Philip Kofi, 2015. "Determinants of energy intensity in South Africa: Testing for structural effects in parameters," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 334-346.
    6. Zheng, Yingmei & Qi, Jianhong & Chen, Xiaoliang, 2011. "The effect of increasing exports on industrial energy intensity in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2688-2698, May.
    7. Amuakwa-Mensah, Franklin & Klege, Rebecca A. & Adom, Philip K. & Amoah, Anthony & Hagan, Edmond, 2018. "Unveiling the energy saving role of banking performance in Sub-Sahara Africa," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 828-842.
    8. Ma, Hengyun & Oxley, Les & Gibson, John, 2010. "China's energy economy: A survey of the literature," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 105-132, June.
    9. Chen, Xiude & Qin, Quande & Wei, Y.-M., 2016. "Energy productivity and Chinese local officials’ promotions: Evidence from provincial governors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 103-112.
    10. Adom, Philip Kofi, 2015. "Asymmetric impacts of the determinants of energy intensity in Nigeria," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 570-580.
    11. Jiang, Lei & Folmer, Henk & Ji, Minhe, 2014. "The drivers of energy intensity in China: A spatial panel data approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 351-360.
    12. Li, Yi & Sun, Linyan & Feng, Taiwen & Zhu, Chunyan, 2013. "How to reduce energy intensity in China: A regional comparison perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 513-522.
    13. Adom, Philip Kofi & Adams, Samuel, 2018. "Energy savings in Nigeria. Is there a way of escape from energy inefficiency?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2421-2430.
    14. Huang, Junbing & Lai, Yali & Wang, Yajun & Hao, Yu, 2020. "Energy-saving research and development activities and energy intensity in China: A regional comparison perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    15. Herrerias, M.J. & Cuadros, A. & Orts, V., 2013. "Energy intensity and investment ownership across Chinese provinces," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 286-298.
    16. Huang, Junbing & Hao, Yu & Lei, Hongyan, 2018. "Indigenous versus foreign innovation and energy intensity in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 1721-1729.
    17. Smyth, Russell & Narayan, Paresh Kumar & Shi, Hongliang, 2011. "Substitution between energy and classical factor inputs in the Chinese steel sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 361-367, January.
    18. Dayong Zhang and David C. Broadstock, 2016. "Club Convergence in the Energy Intensity of China," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    19. Huang, Junbing & Chen, Xiang, 2020. "Domestic R&D activities, technology absorption ability, and energy intensity in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    20. Yang, Guangfei & Li, Wenli & Wang, Jianliang & Zhang, Dongqing, 2016. "A comparative study on the influential factors of China's provincial energy intensity," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 74-85.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Energy Production and Transportation; Environment and Energy Efficiency; Energy and Environment; Water and Industry; E-Business;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F0 - International Economics - - General

    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:wbk:wbrwps:6551. 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: Roula I. Yazigi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.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.