Impact of energy prices on industrial energy efficiency and productivity.

摘要

Energy prices moved into the forefront of concern in the mid and late seventies when two oil price shocks drove up energy prices dramatically. The analysis of the subsequent increase in industrial energy efficiency, i.e., decline in energy use per unit of industrial output, has filled volumes of government and private studies. Despite the volumes of analysis, there remains no consensus on the magnitude of the effect of energy prices on industrial energy efficiency or the effect of the change in energy prices on productivity. This paper examines some sources of the controversy to initiate a dialog between policy makers, analysts, and the energy consumers and producers.