The sectorally heterogeneous and time-varying price elasticities of energy demand in China

Abstract The price elasticities of energy demand are intrinsically sectorally heterogeneous and time-varying, which is crucial for policy assessment, yet little studied. Therefore, in this study, we apply a semiparametric model that allows the coefficients to vary with continuous and categorical attributes to explore the sector-specific and year-specific price elasticities. We take China as an example, covering 32 industrial sectors from 1999 to 2015. Two main results have been found: (a) yearly average elasticities increased during the sample period and experienced faster growth since the 11th Five-Year-Plan period; and (b) the price elasticities showed significant sectoral heterogeneity in their magnitude, range, and trend. Nonmetal products (e.g., cement), metals, and chemicals have the largest elasticities. The mining and equipment manufacturing sectors are close to the sample average value. The light industry sector has the largest heterogeneity. The weighted mean of our results is consistent with those in the existing literature but provides more sector-specific information.