ICT and the demand for energy: Evidence from OECD countries

Sascha Rexhaeuser, Patrick Schulte and Heinz Welsch
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Sascha Rexhäuser ()

No 13-116, ZEW Discussion Papers from ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research

Abstract: This paper analyzes the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) and energy demand. We construct a comprehensive cross-country cross-industry panel data set covering 13 years, 10 OECD countries, and 27 industries. Using up to 2889 country-industry observations, we find that: (1) ICT capital is associated with a significant reduction in energy demand. (2) This relationship differs with regard to different types of energy. ICT use is not significantly correlated with electricity demand, but is significantly related to a reduction in non-electric energy demand. That is, ICT use comes with a reduction in total energy demand and an increase in the relative demand for electric over non-electric energy.

Keywords: technical change; ICT; energy demand; energy efficiency; energy mix; Green IT; cross-country cross-industry data; environmental policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O33 O44 Q41 Q43 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-env and nep-ict
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/88945/1/776189344.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: ICT and the Demand for Energy: Evidence from OECD Countries (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13116

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