ABSTRACT
Researchers differ on the importance of energy in economic growth and development. Toman and Jemelkova (2003) argue that most of the literature on energy and economic development discusses how development affects energy use rather than the reverse. The principal mainstream economic growth models do not include energy (Aghion and Howitt 2009), though macroeconomics pays significant attention to the impact of oil prices on economic activity in the short run (Hamilton 2009). Resource economists have developed models that incorporate the role of resources, including energy, in the growth process, but these ideas have not been integrated into the core economic models and theories. Ecological economists, on the other hand, often ascribe to energy the central role in economic growth (e.g., Hall et al. 2003). Obviously energy is used to produce goods and services, but is it an important driver of economic growth and development? This chapter attempts to answer this question by surveying the literature and synthesizing its more relevant strands.
