The hidden world trade in energy
Name
MIT-EL-86-020WP-19615368.pdf
Size
4.97 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
e0816e6db4c89cd065fb6a3f93002a0d
Author(s)
Strout, Alan Mayne
Date Issued
1986
Publisher
MIT Energy Lab
Series/Report no.
MIT-EL
86-020WP
Abstract
The energy embodied in internationally traded commodities is
estimated for the year 1967 by employing United States input-output energy
coefficients expressed in physical units. In this year and under the
assumption of USA technology and industrial structure, this "hidden" world
trade in energy probably exceeded 40 per cent of the directly observed world
trade in energy. As a ratio to aggregate energy consumption, the importance
of embodied energy flows is smaller, but net embodied energy imports are
positively correlated with per capita GDP, and their inclusion in aggregate
energy consumption would increase measured income (per capita GDP)
elasticities. A country's imports of embodied energy are approximately
proportional to the imports of all commodities. Exports of embodied energy,
on the other hand, especially those associated with more energy-intensive
materials (which are largely products of what is commonly called heavy
industry and which account for most of the country net imports of embodied
energy) have a much higher elasticity than do imports with respect to per
capita GDP. These energy-intensive exports are also significantly affected by
a country's relative production of primary energy, total agricultural crops,
and other natural resources.
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