Chen Changhua, Huang Junbing, Chang Huigui, Lei Hongyan
School of Management, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China.
School of Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2019 Nov 1;689:1066-1078. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.369. Epub 2019 Jun 26.
One of the most efficient and effective ways to cut energy intensity is through an increase in indigenous R&D activities. In the existing literature on the nexus of indigenous R&D and energy intensity, indigenous R&D activities are discussed as a whole, because they are assumed to be simple and homogeneous. Consequently, no detailed information on how indigenous R&D influences energy intensity can be obtained. In addition, regional imbalances are basically ignored. That may yield generalized results and policy implications for the whole of China but lack relevance for China's different regions. In this paper, the effects of indigenous R&D activities on energy intensity are analyzed by dividing R&D activities into three stages with three performers. The empirical results based on China's provincial data set covering the period 2000-2016 suggest that indigenous R&D is a major tool for cutting energy intensity; however, energy intensity is subject to statistically different effects from R&D activities in different stages and by different performers. The R&D activities in the experiment and development stage play a more important role in decreasing energy intensity, compared to the other two stages. In addition, R&D activities carried out by industrial enterprises contribute more to cutting energy intensity than those of independent R&D institutions and higher education. In a regional comparison, there is also clear evidence that the regional difference should not be omitted, suggesting that policy makers should pay more attention to coordinating the energy policies of different regions to maximize the policies' impacts.
降低能源强度最有效且高效的方法之一是增加本土研发活动。在现有的关于本土研发与能源强度关系的文献中，本土研发活动被视为一个整体进行讨论，因为它们被假定为简单且同质化的。因此，无法获得关于本土研发如何影响能源强度的详细信息。此外，地区不平衡基本上被忽视了。这可能会得出适用于整个中国的一般性结果和政策建议，但对中国不同地区缺乏针对性。在本文中，通过将研发活动按三个阶段和三类执行主体进行划分，分析了本土研发活动对能源强度的影响。基于2000 - 2016年中国省级数据集的实证结果表明，本土研发是降低能源强度的主要手段；然而，能源强度在不同阶段和不同执行主体的研发活动影响下存在统计学上显著的差异。与其他两个阶段相比，实验与发展阶段的研发活动在降低能源强度方面发挥着更重要的作用。此外，工业企业开展的研发活动在降低能源强度方面比独立研发机构和高等教育机构的贡献更大。在区域比较中，也有明确证据表明地区差异不容忽视，这表明政策制定者应更加注重协调不同地区的能源政策，以最大化政策影响。
