Published Paper
2110-7017
International Economics
Does the Sectoral Shift Towards Services Lead to a Shift in the Global Energy Mix?
Nadia Doytch, Canh Phuc Nguyen, Deepika Krishnan
DOI:
Keywords:
Global Energy and Sustainability Research, Energy, Environment, Economic Growth, Innovation Diffusion and Forecasting
Abstract
This paper examines the effects of the ongoing global structural shift towards services on the energy mix of economies. Unlike much of the existing literature, the analysis separately examines fossil fuels and sustainable energy, as well as among total final, industrial, residential, and transport energy consumption and intensities. The analysis utilizes a dataset covering up to 110 countries from 1999 to 2020, to capture price effects CPI was used as a proxy for energy prices, and a dynamic panel estimation method was employed to address endogeneity. We find that the structural shift towards services has a significant negative effect on the level and intensity of fossil fuel energy use. In fact, the size of the manufacturing sector significantly augments the level and the intensity of fossil fuel energy use, while the size of the services sector tends to decrease them. Moreover, the share of services significantly increases the sustainable energy consumption, especially in residential and transport activities. Therefore, our findings suggest that manufacturing is fossil fuel-intensive, while services are sustainable energy-intensive. The digital and financial service industry should adopt sustainable energy for sustainable infrastructure.
Nadia Doytch, Canh Phuc Nguyen, Deepika Krishnan (2026), "Does the Sectoral Shift Towards Services Lead to a Shift in the Global Energy Mix?", International Economics, pp. 100744, DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.inteco.2026.100744


