It is widely accepted that the costs of under-pricing energy are large, whether in advanced or developing countries. This paper explores how large these costs can be by focussing on the size of the external effects that energy subsidies in particular generate in two important sectors - transport...

We compare a range of energy efficiency policies in a durable good market subject to both energy-use externalities and price-quality discrimination by a monopolist. We find that the social optimum can be achieved with differentiated subsidies. With ad valorem subsidies, the subsidization of the...

In addition to the already present Climate and Energy package, the European Union (EU) plans to include a binding target to reduce energy consumption. We analyze the rationales the EU invokes to justify such an overlapping and develop a minimal common framework to study interactions arising from...

This paper develops a pseudo-panel approach to examine household electricity demand behavior through the household life cycle and its response to income variations to help strengthen the energy policy-making process. Our empirical methodology is based on three rich independent microdata surveys...

Energy efficiency is one of the key crossroads between energy, climate and economic issues. In fact, it represents one of the most cost effective ways to enhance security of energy supply, to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and to enhance economic competitiveness at one fell swoop. This...

We assess the degree of connectedness among 16 metals that are critical for the production of clean energy technologies. These commodities are the constituents of the Energy Transition Metals (ETMs) price index maintained by the International Monetary Fund and comprise base, precious, and minor...

China’s global quest for resources, in particular oil and natural gas, has received unprecedented worldwide attention and scrutiny. This is partly because of China’s own high-profile, active energy diplomacy, its national oil companies’ acquisitions in the key exporting regions of oil and...

What do we know about the size of the rebound effect? Should we believe claims that energy efficiency improvements lead to an increase in energy use? This paper clarifies what the rebound effect is, and provides a guide for economists and policymakers interested in its magnitude. We describe how...

Information and communication technology plays an important role in achieving a higher level of energy efficiency. In particular, energy efficiency can be achieved by integrating information technology into electricity networks to enable the interaction between suppliers and customers (smart...