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Environmental policies and energy efficiency investments. An industry-level analysis

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  • García-Quevedo, Jose
  • Jové-Llopis, Elisenda

Abstract

Energy efficiency is considered a very cost-effective way to mitigate air emissions and improve the economic performance of manufacturing industries. Many countries have implemented measures to increase energy efficiency in industry. These measures include command-and-control and market-based interventions, and they may be specific to a particular firm or sector. Although these policies may have benefits, the results of the empirical analyses of the effects of these interventions on the adoption of energy-saving technologies are not conclusive. The main objective of this paper is to examine the role of different environmental policy measures on energy efficiency investment. We construct a database from several sources for Spanish industries for the period 2010–2017. This gives us information on a broad range of factors and policy instruments that may drive energy efficiency investments. We consider four different instruments: regulation, taxes, subsidies, and tax credits.

Suggested Citation

  • García-Quevedo, Jose & Jové-Llopis, Elisenda, 2021. "Environmental policies and energy efficiency investments. An industry-level analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:156:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521003311
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112461
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    Cited by:

    1. Peng Qi & Yu Shang & Fang Han, 2022. "The Effects of Environmental Regulation on Investment Efficiency—An Empirical Analysis of Manufacturing Firms in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, May.
    2. Carlijn G. C. van Helmond & Robert A. W. Kok, 2022. "Organizational (Non-) Adoption of Legally Obliged Energy-Saving Technologies: Why (Not) Comply?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Tchorzewska, K.B. & Garcia-Quevedo, J. & Martinez-Ros, E., 2022. "The heterogeneous effects of environmental taxation on green technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(7).
    4. Raza, Muhammad Yousaf & Lin, Boqiang, 2022. "Energy efficiency and factor productivity in Pakistan: Policy perspectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Energy efficiency; Environmental policy; Climate change; Industry-level;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation

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