The underestimated contribution of energy to economic growth

Robert U. Ayres, Jeroen van den Bergh, Dietmar Lindenberger and Benjamin Warr

Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 2013, vol. 27, issue C, 79-88

Abstract: Standard economic theory regards capital and labour as the main factors of production that satisfy the “cost-share theorem”. This paper argues that when a third factor, namely energy, is added physical constraints on substitution among the factors arise. We show that energy is a much more important factor of production than its small cost share may indicate. This implies that continued economic growth along the historical trend cannot safely be assumed, notably in view of considerably higher energy prices in the future due to peak oil and climate policy.

Keywords: Economic growth; Energy cost share; Technological constraints; Peak oil; Climate policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D24 O44 Q43 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (66)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:streco:v:27:y:2013:i:c:p:79-88

DOI: 10.1016/j.strueco.2013.07.004

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