IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ime/imemes/v41y2023p81-110.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy Efficiency in Japan: Developments in the Business and Household Sectors, and Implications for Carbon Neutrality

Author

Listed:
  • Kosuke Aoki

    (Professor, Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo (E-mail: kaoki@e.u-tokyo.ac.jp))

  • Jouchi Nakajima

    (Director, Research and Statistics Department, Bank of Japan (currently, Professor, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University) (E-mail: nakajima-j@ier.hit-u.ac.jp))

  • Masato Takahashi

    (Research and Statistics Department (currently, Personnel and Corporate Affairs Department), Bank of Japan (E-mail: masato.takahashi@boj.or.jp))

  • Tomoyuki Yagi

    (Director, Research and Statistics Department, Bank of Japan (E-mail: tomoyuki.yagi@boj.or.jp))

  • Kotone Yamada

    (Research and Statistics Department (currently, Personnel and Corporate Affairs Department), Bank of Japan (E-mail: kotone.yamada@boj.or.jp))

Abstract

Recently the efforts toward decarbonization are spreading both in Japan and abroad. In this paper, we examine the developments in Japan's energy intensity, a measure of energy efficiency, and their background at the aggregate and sectoral levels. The main results are as follows. Energy efficiency in Japan improved considerably between the 1970s and the 1980s, mainly due to the progress in energy-saving technical changes in the business sector. Although the pace of improvement decelerated on the whole from the 1990s to the first half of the 2000s, Japan's energy efficiency has returned to a moderate improving trend, particularly in the household sector, in recent years. Our estimate using a simple model of the household sector shows that the recent improvement in aggregate energy efficiency may reflect households' purchases and utilization of energy-saving goods produced by the business sector. Further efforts are expected to be made in each sector to achieve carbon neutrality.

Suggested Citation

  • Kosuke Aoki & Jouchi Nakajima & Masato Takahashi & Tomoyuki Yagi & Kotone Yamada, 2023. "Energy Efficiency in Japan: Developments in the Business and Household Sectors, and Implications for Carbon Neutrality," Monetary and Economic Studies, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan, vol. 41, pages 81-110, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:ime:imemes:v:41:y:2023:p:81-110
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.imes.boj.or.jp/research/papers/english/me41-5.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Herrendorf, Berthold & Rogerson, Richard & Valentinyi, Ákos, 2014. "Growth and Structural Transformation," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 6, pages 855-941, Elsevier.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dennis C. Hutschenreiter & Tommaso Santini & Eugenia Vella, 2022. "Automation and sectoral reallocation," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 335-362, May.
    2. Till F. Hollstein & Kristian Estévez, 2017. "Industrial Policy and the Timing of Trade Liberalization," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2017/361, University of Barcelona School of Economics.
    3. Gottlieb Charles & Grobovšek Jan & Poschke Markus & Saltiel Fernando, 2022. "Lockdown Accounting," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 22(1), pages 197-210, January.
    4. Alonso-Carrera, Jaime & Raurich, Xavier, 2015. "Demand-based structural change and balanced economic growth," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 359-374.
    5. Akama, Erick Maiko & Lokina, Razack & Mkenda, Beatrice Kalinda, 2023. "Clean production and Employment Outcomes: An Eco-efficiency Firm Level Analysis in Kenya," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 11(2), March.
    6. Niembro, Andrés & Calá, Carla Daniela, 2024. "Regional structural change in Argentina (1996-2019): Concepts, measurements and unequal trajectories over the business cycle," Nülan. Deposited Documents 4106, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Centro de Documentación.
    7. Edgar Cruz & Xavier Raurich, 2020. "Leisure time and the sectoral composition of employment," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 38, pages 198-219, October.
    8. Xu, Chenzi & Yang, He, 2024. "Real effects of supplying safe private money," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    9. Fuchs-Schündeln, Nicola & Bick, Alexander & Lagakos, David & Tsujiyama, Hitoshi, 2019. "Why are Average Hours Worked Lower in Richer Countries?," CEPR Discussion Papers 14180, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. L. Rachel Ngai & Barbara Petrongolo, 2017. "Gender Gaps and the Rise of the Service Economy," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 1-44, October.
    11. Balland, Pierre-Alexandre & Broekel, Tom & Diodato, Dario & Giuliani, Elisa & Hausmann, Ricardo & O'Clery, Neave & Rigby, David, 2022. "Reprint of The new paradigm of economic complexity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(8).
    12. Bridgman, Benjamin & Duernecker, Georg & Herrendorf, Berthold, 2018. "Structural transformation, marketization, and household production around the world," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 102-126.
    13. Emran, M. Shahe & Shilpi, Forhad, 2015. "Do Land Market Restrictions Hinder Structural Change in a Rural Economy? Evidence from Sri Lanka," MPRA Paper 66017, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Jonathan Temple & Huikang Ying & Patrick Carter, 2014. "Transfers and Transformations: Remittances, Foreign Aid, and Growth," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 14/649, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK, revised 02 Dec 2014.
    15. Asiedu, Elizabeth & Azomahou, Théophile T. & Getachew, Yoseph & Yitbarek, Eleni, 2021. "Share the love: Parental bias, women empowerment and intergenerational mobility," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 846-867.
    16. Bick, Alexander & Fuchs-Schündeln, Nicola & Lagakos, David & Tsujiyama, Hitoshi, 2022. "Structural change in labor supply and cross-country differences in hours worked," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 68-85.
    17. Fajgelbaum, Pablo & Redding, Stephen, 2014. "External integration, structural transformation and economic development: evidence from Argentina," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 60285, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Ibrahim, Muazu, 2020. "Effects of trade and financial integration on structural transformation in Africa: New evidence from a sample splitting approach," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 556(C).
    19. Carlos Garriga & Aaron Hedlund & Yang Tang & Ping Wang, 2023. "Rural-Urban Migration, Structural Transformation, and Housing Markets in China," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 413-440, April.
    20. Kunling Zhang, 2021. "Economic Structural Transformation in Emerging Market Countries," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 13(2), pages 216-238, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate change; Carbon neutrality; Energy efficiency; Technical change;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ime:imemes:v:41:y:2023:p:81-110. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kinken (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/imegvjp.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.