RIEBセミナー

16：00 ～ 17：30

論題

Energy Efficiency and Directed Technical Change: Implications for Climate Change Mitigation

報告者

Gregory CASEY (Department of Economics, Williams College)

概要

I build a quantitative model of economic growth that can be used to evaluate the impact of environmental policy interventions on final-use energy consumption, an important driver of carbon emissions. In the model, energy demand is driven by endogenous and directed technical change (DTC). Unlike existing DTC models, I consider the case where multiple technological characteristics are embodied in each capital good, rather than in different sectors. Energy supply is subject to increasing extraction costs. The model is consistent with aggregate evidence on energy use, efficiency, and prices in the United States. In my primary analysis, I examine the impact of new energy taxes and compare the results to the standard Cobb-Douglas approach used in the environmental macroeconomics literature, which is not consistent with data. When examining a realistic and identical path of energy taxes in both models, the directed technical change model predicts 24% greater cumulative energy use over the next century. I also use the model to study the macroeconomic consequences of energy efficiency mandates. I find large rebound effects that undermine the environmental effectiveness of such policies.