Changes in Energy Intensities by Energy Type in Korea: A Decomposition Analysis

The aggregate energy intensity in Korea has fallen since the financial crisis in 1997. The energy intensities of coal and refined oil consumption are found to follow the declining patterns, but the energy intensity of electricity consumption has shown an increasing trend. This paper examines the changes in energy intensities by energy type during 1981–2002 and identifies the factors affecting the energy consumption in Korean industry by using logarithmic mean Divisia decomposition method. The decomposition analysis indicates that the production effect, structural effect and intensity effect contributed to the different patterns of energy intensities of coal, refined oil and electricity consumption during the period of study.