『Abstract
Given China's heavy reliance on fuel energy and the dominance
of its industrial sector in the economy, improving energy efficiency
remains one of the practical means for the country to decrease
energy intensity and to fulfill its commitment made at the Copenhagen
Climate Change Conference to achieve a 40-45 percent reduction
in CO2 emission intensity by 2020. This study
investigates the impact of exports on industrial energy intensity
to explore the possibility of reducing energy intensity through
greater exports. A panel varying-coefficient regression model
with a dataset of China's 20 industrial sub-sectors over 1999-2007
suggests that in general, greater exports aggravate energy intensity
of the industrial sector and that great divergences exist in the
impact of exports on energy intensity across sub-sectors. A panel
threshold model further estimates the thresholds for the major
determinants of energy intensity: exports, input in technological
innovations, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) intensity. Given
the great differences in specific sub-sector characteristics and
the changing roles played by different actors across sub-sectors,
there is no general export policy that would work for all sub-sectors
in reducing sub-sector energy intensity. Instead, policies and
measures aiming to encourage more efficient use of energy should
take into full consideration the characteristics and situations
of individual sub-sectors.
Keywords: Exports; Energy intensity reduction; China』
1. Introduction
2. Review of existing studies on determinants of energy intensity
3. Impact of exports on industrial energy intensity
3.1. Model specifications and data description
3.2. The model and methodology
3.3. Empirical results and discussions
4. Impact of exports on energy intensity across sub-sectors
4.1. model specification
4.2. Regression results and discussions
5. Threshold levels in the impact of exports on energy intensity
5.1. A panel threshold model
5.2. Results
5.3. Discussion
6. Conclusions and policy implications
Acknowledgements
Appendix A
References