We investigate the importance of energy in the investment decision process. Based on empirical results, it is clear that for energy-intensive industries, as well as for the economy as a whole, energy is important in adequately explaining investment behavior. Beyond this, there is a strong indication that, over the period of dramatically rising energy prices, energy has had an increasingly large effect on investment decisions. To the extent that rising energy prices (in real terms) are realized in the future, the effect on economic growth will be nontrivial.
