Energy consumption and economic growth: Does it accord with the allometric scaling law in biology?

Abstract

Energy consumption plays an important role in economic growth. It has been reported that the pattern of energy use in human economies possesses the same form as the biological relationship governing the amount of energy required by animals for their base metabolism, namely the relationship is characterized by a power function having a scaling factor (exponent) of 0.75. Using two different sets of data, we consider whether these data for China support this hypothesis. Energy use per head in relation to its GDP per capita for the whole of China for the period 1980–2011 is examined. A similar exercise is completed for the three main regions of China (its Eastern, Middle and Western Regions) for the period 1980–2008. Substantial differences in regional energy intensities are found and reasons for these are suggested. Furthermore, it is discovered that the overall results do not support the hypothesis that China’s energy use accords with the above mentioned biological relationship. Alternative relationships are found to provide a better fit to the available data.