Learning-by-doing and the costs of a backstop for energy transition and sustainability

Pierre-André Jouvet and Ingmar Schumacher

Ecological Economics, 2012, vol. 73, issue C, 122-132

Abstract: We assess the impact of being able to substitute an unlimited but costly energy substitute (like wind, solar) for a non-renewable resource (like oil, coal) in a model of sustainable growth. The prospects for sustainability on the optimal path depend crucially on the costs of this substitute. Furthermore, the poorer a country, measured in terms of capital stock at a given point in time, the later it should switch to the renewable substitute, and the more likely it will be unsustainable. Taking learning-by-doing in account, we find that this leads to an earlier switching time but does not guarantee sustainability.

Keywords: Backstop technology; Non-renewable resource; Resource substitution; Sustainability; Learning-by-doing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q21 Q32 Q42 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800911004149
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
Working Paper: Learning-by-doing and the costs of a backstop for energy transition ans sustainability (2012)
Working Paper: Learning-by-doing and the Costs of a Backstop for Energy Transition and Sustainability (2011)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:73:y:2012:i:c:p:122-132

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.10.007

Access Statistics for this article

Ecological Economics is currently edited by C. J. Cleveland

More articles in Ecological Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().