Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/172524 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 17-072
Publisher: 
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), Mannheim
Abstract: 
We analyze the drivers and barriers that influence investments increasing the energy efficiency of firms' production processes or buildings in the German manufacturing sector based on microdata. In particular, we shed light on the relationship between financial barriers (e. g. credit constraints), information and knowledge (e. g. energy management practices), salience of energy-related topics, and the investments in energy saving technologies. A better understanding of firms' investment behavior regarding energy saving technologies is crucial to design efficient policy measures, which are necessary to achieve the imposed ambitious climate and energy policy targets. We use data from 701 structured telephone interviews in combination with commercial and confidential firm-level data. Our results suggest that energy management practices have a statistically significant positive relationship with investment decisions on energy saving technologies for production processes and buildings. Credit constraints are a barrier to investments in the energy efficiency of firms' production processes. Furthermore, high energy cost shares of heating or cooling, high energy intensity, energy self-generation and structured internal decision making processes influence the investments in energy efficiency positively.
Subjects: 
Energy efficiency
Credit constraints
Energy management
Manufacturing
industry
Investment behavior
JEL: 
D22
H23
Q41
Q48
Q58
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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