Asia-Pacific’s changing energy intensity trend: a decomposition analysis based on seven countries from the Asia-Pacific region

Abstract: This paper presents stylized facts on energy intensity developments in the productive sectors of seven countries from the Asia-Pacific region over the period from 1980-2004. The paper first analyzed the trend in energy intensity based on the energy consumption data and gross value added data acquired from IEA and Groningen Development center. Secondly, the paper applies the Log Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) to decompose energy intensity into the relative contributions of structural changes and efficiency improvements. The main results are: (1) there was absolute convergence in energy intensity of the productive sectors between the seven countries being analyzed; (2) the industry sector contributed the most to changes in energy intensity from 1980-2004; (3) structural changes involving shifts of production between subsectors increased overall energy intensity, whereas efficiency improvements within each of the subsector pushed down energy intensity.