Analysis of Changes in Inter-Industrial Linkages and Economic Effects of Coal Industry in China Using Input–Output Model

Abstract

This research quantifies the inter-industrial linkages (forward linkages and backward linkages) and economic effects (production-inducing effects and supply-shortage effects) and their changes through the input–output analysis of China’s coal industry in different time periods (2005, 2010, 2015, 2020). The results show that, from an overall point of view, the linkages (backward and forward) between the coal industry and other industries, as well as the economic effects of the coal sector, have tended to weaken in recent years, and both of these indicators for the coal sector in 2020 are weaker than the levels in 2005. However, individual sectors differ from the overall trend: the non-metal mineral products sector has shown an upward trend in recent years in the degree of total demand for coal sector products and the degree of influence by supply shortages in the coal sector, while these two indicators for the construction sector have been on an upward trend since 2005; the electricity, heat production, and supply sector has shown an upward trend in recent years in the degree of influence by supply shortages in the coal sector. Based on the analytical results of this study, some policy insights are provided for China’s low-carbon transition.