Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers Creation-Date: 2012-03-12 Number: 12-027/3 Author-Name: Peter Mulder Author-Email: peter.mulder@vu.nl Author-Workplace-Name: VU University Amsterdam Author-Name: Henri L.F. de Groot Author-Email: h.l.f.de.groot@vu.nl Author-Workplace-Name: VU University Amsterdam Title: Structural Change and Convergence of Energy Intensity across OECD Countries, 1970-2005 Abstract: This paper uses a new dataset derived from a consistent framework of national accounts to compute and evaluate energy intensity developments across 18 OECD countries and 50 sectors over the period 1970-2005. We find that across countries energy intensity levels tend to increase in a fairly wide range of Services subsectors, but decrease in most Manufacturing sectors. A decomposition analysis reveals that changes in the sectoral composition of the economy explain a considerable and increasing part of aggregate energy intensity dynamics. A convergence analysis reveals that only after 1995 cross-country variation in aggregate energy intensity levels clearly tends to decrease, driven by a strong and robust trend break in Manufacturing and enhanced convergence in Services. Moreover, we find evidence for the hypothesis that across sectors lagging countries are catching-up with leading countries, with rates of convergence on average being higher in Services than in Manufacturing. Aggregate convergence patterns are almost exclusively caused by convergence of within-sector energy intensity levels, and not by convergence of the sectoral composition of economies. This discussion paper led to a publication in Energy Economics. Classification-JEL: O13, O47, O5, Q43 Keywords: Energy Intensity, Convergence, Decomposition, Sectoral Analysis File-Url: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/12027.pdf File-Format: application/pdf File-Size: 564423 bytes Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20120027