Abstract
Controlling the rapid growth of residential energy demand and enhancing energy efficiency are key policy issues in Japan. Thus, this study aims to estimate a residential energy demand function by conducting a stochastic frontier analysis and analyze the regional determinants of energy efficiency. The results indicate that population density and electrification rate foster energy efficiency and exert the same degree of impact. The study also highlights that population concentration has a nonlinear effect on energy efficiency. In other words, when combined with population concentration, the promotion of electrification policies can significantly contribute toward improving energy efficiency in the residential sector and consequently, have a positive effect on Japan’s regional economy.
Highlights
Lifestyle changes and a growing rate of households have significantly increased energy consumption in Japan’s residential sector
By conducting a stochastic frontier analysis, an energy efficiency index is derived after controlling for variables reflecting socioeconomic structure such as income, prices, household size, urbanization, and climate
This study focuses on population concentration and electrification rate as possible regional drivers of energy efficiency increase in the residential sector
Summary
Lifestyle changes and a growing rate of households have significantly increased energy consumption in Japan’s residential sector. Residential energy consumption continues to increase even today owing to the diffusion of large-scale and diversified household electrical appliances. Fostering energy efficiency to overcome the effect of household appliance diffusion has become a crucial policy issue in Japan. Japan feared a disruption in oil supply, which led to the enactment of the Law Concerning the Rational Use of Energy to promote efficient energy use. Since it implementation, the Law has been revised as per changing circumstances, it remains in effect till date. The system was introduced following an amendment to the Energy Conservation Law in 1998, which occurred after the Global Warming
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