Effects of investment on energy intensity: evidence from China

This article explores the effects of investment upon energy intensity by applying a unique panel data of China’s 27 provinces between 2004 and 2013. In addition, it also particularly studies other factors, such as energy price, economic structure, and urbanization. The results, based on four econometric regression model results, suggest that in general, the indigenous investment on research and development is a more powerful tool to decrease China’s energy intensity regardless of region disparity. The foreign direct investment (FDI) has a prominent but not persistent effect on energy intensity. However, the outward direct investment has not shown its significant impact on energy intensity. At the level of an aggregate economy and China’s eastern region, the results demonstrate that FDI improves energy efficiency significantly. For the central and western provinces, FDI does not support the similar conclusion. Based on these analyses, we present the corresponding regional policies for policymakers.