Study on the Evolvement of Technology Development and Energy Efficiency—A Case Study of the Past 30 Years of Development in Shanghai

William X. Wei, Dezhi Chen and Daiping Hu
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William X. Wei: MacEwan School of Business, Grant MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4S2, Canada
Dezhi Chen: Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
Daiping Hu: Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 5, 1-21

Abstract: Previous research in regional energy efficiency by using macro statistical data has demonstrated that technology development could improve regional energy efficiency. Since the start of reform and opening up in 1978, China has mainly adopted energy import and foreign direct investment to promote economic growth. At the same time, the country has also increased the input of technology and R&D to prompt technological reformation and imported technology absorption. However, there is limited research on the relationship between technology development and energy efficiency. Using the grounded theory method, the authors of this paper study the relationship between technology input-output and energy utilization efficiency in Shanghai over the past 30 years. They conclude that although the tactics of technology import and foreign direct investment can improve energy efficiency in the initial stages of modern industrialization, they cannot improve it continuously. In the more advanced stages of modern industrialization, the improvement of energy efficiency relies not only on increased R&D investment but also on R&D investment structure optimization and independent technological innovation.

Keywords: technology development; energy utilization efficiency; GDP energy consumption; grounded theory; case study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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