On electricity consumption and economic growth in China

Abstract

The invention and application of the electric power technology triggered the second industrial revolution in human history, which marked the human society entered the age of electricity. Electricity provides the sustainable power for economic and social development. With the rapid development of economy, the electricity consumption is also increasing. The increase of electricity consumption has further promoted the progress of the industrial economy. In order to achieve the goal of improving the level of economic development while reducing energy consumption, it is necessary to reveal the relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth. This study is an extensive overview of the literature surrounding this topic. In this paper, we focus on the relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth in China. We first analyze the general situation of China's electricity consumption and economic development. Then we explore the relationship between China's electricity consumption and economic growth from three dimensions, i.e., the time dimension, the regional dimension and the industrial dimension. Finally, we study the key issues in the research of the relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth, including variable selection, model construction and results discussion. This work suggests that the nature of the nexus in China should and can be explored from a wider perspective, by developing a suitable integrated methodological framework.