Energy Efficiency Transitions in China: How persistent are the movements to/from the frontier?

Lin Zhang and Philip Adom

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This study examines the energy efficiency transitions in China using provincial data covering the period 2003–2015. Sustainable progress in energy efficiency achievements is beneficial to energy insecurity and the achievement of the Paris Agreement. This article combines the stochastic frontier method with the panel Markov-switching regression to model energy efficiency transitions. Estimated energy efficiency scores showed significant regional and provincial heterogeneity. Also, while human capital development, urbanization, and foreign direct investment promote energy efficiency, price and income per capita reduce it. The transition probabilities indicate that the high energy-efficient state is less sustainable, and the movement towards the frontier seems less persistent than movement from the frontier. Thus, it appears that China is not making sustainable progress in energy efficiency. The unsustainable nature of the high energy-efficient state suggests that in China, there are weak energy efficiency efforts and energy efficiency policies lack robustness.

Keywords: Energy efficiency transitions; Panel Markov; Stochastic frontier; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O4 O47 Q4 Q40 Q43 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cna, nep-ene and nep-reg
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

Published in The Energy Journal 6.39(2018): pp. 147-169

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Related works:
Journal Article: Energy Efficiency Transitions in China: How Persistent are the Movements to/from the Frontier? (2018)
Journal Article: Energy Efficiency Transitions in China: How Persistent are the Movements to/from the Frontier? (2018)
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