Environmental and Resource Economics

, Volume 63, Issue 1, pp 119–146 | Cite as

ICT and the Demand for Energy: Evidence from OECD Countries

Article
First Online:
Accepted:

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) has been ascribed a crucial role for raising resource and energy efficiency and thereby contributing to environmental abatement. We investigate this conjecture by providing evidence on the relationship between ICT and energy demand. Using a cross-country cross-industry panel data set covering 13 years, 10 OECD countries, and 27 industries, our results show that ICT is associated with a significant reduction in total energy demand. This relationship differs with regard to different types of energy. ICT is negatively related to the demand for non-electric energy, but is not associated with a significant change in the demand for electric energy. Quantitatively, the effect of ICT on energy demand is greater than that on labor demand. The results survive several robustness checks which allow for various forms of heterogeneity and tackle the potential endogeneity of ICT capital.

Keywords

Energy demand Energy efficiency Environmental policy Green growth ICT OECD countries Technical change 

JEL Classification

O33 O44 Q41 Q43 
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Supplementary material

10640_2014_9844_MOESM1_ESM.pdf (96 kb)
Supplementary material 1 (pdf 96 KB)

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  • Patrick Schulte
    • 1
  • Heinz Welsch
    • 2
  • Sascha Rexhäuser
    • 1
  1. 1.Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW)MannheimGermany
  2. 2.University of OldenburgOldenburgGermany

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