How does economic infrastructure affect industrial energy efficiency convergence? Empirical evidence from China

Abstract

Examining how economic infrastructure affects China’s industrial energy efficiency (EE) convergence is critical in the process of overall industrial EE improvement, especially under the background of promoting equitable growth and developing a modernized economy. Based on panel data from 30 China’s provinces between 2000 and 2017, this paper explores the existence of industrial EE convergence and examines the influence of economic infrastructure on industrial EE convergence in China and three different regions. The results show clear evidence of convergence in industrial EE for China and the three regions, indicating that the lagging provinces tend to catch up with the advanced ones in the long term. The catch-up speed from the western region is the highest, followed by the central and eastern region. Economic infrastructure has significant impacts on industrial EE convergence in China and the three regions, while the impacts of different types of infrastructure are divergent across region. Energy infrastructure is conducive to industrial EE convergence in the eastern and western region, whereas transport infrastructure makes a better performance in the central region. These results provide useful insights for narrowing the industrial EE gap among regions from the supply side.