The effect of new technology on energy consumption
Abstract
This paper uses patent data to estimate the effect of new technologies on energy consumption. Matching energy patent counts to the industries using these patents, I create stocks of energy knowledge for 13 industries. Including the stocks in restricted variable cost functions, I estimate the median present value of long run savings from a new patent to be over US$ 14.5 million. Combining these results with estimates of price-induced innovation, I conclude that two-thirds of the change in energy consumption with respect to a price change is due to simple price-induced factor substitution, while the remaining third results from induced innovation.
- Publication:
-
Resource and Energy Economics
- Pub Date:
- January 2001
- DOI:
- 10.1016/S0928-7655(00)00045-2
- Bibcode:
- 2001REEco..23..215P
- Keywords:
-
- Q41 Energy: demand and supply;
- O33 Technological change: choices and consequences;
- Energy;
- Technology;
- Induced innovation;
- Patents;
- Yale Technology Concordance (YTC)