Energy economics is a broad scientific subject area which includes topics related to supply and use of energy in societies. Due to diversity of issues and methods applied and shared with a number of academic disciplines, energy economics does not present itself as a self-contained academic discipline, but it is an applied subdiscipline of economics. From the list of main topics of economics, some relate strongly to energy economics:
- Econometrics
- Environmental economics
- Finance
- Industrial organization
- Microeconomics
- Macroeconomics
- Resource economics
Energy economics also draws heavily on results of energy engineering, geology, political sciences, ecology etc. Recent focus of energy economics includes the following issues:
- Climate change and climate policy
- Risk analysis and security of supply
- Sustainability
- Energy markets and electricity markets - liberalisation, (de- or re-) regulation
- Demand response
- Energy and economic growth
- Economics of energy infrastructure
- Environmental policy
- Energy policy
- Energy derivatives
- Forecasting energy demand
- Elasticity of supply and demand in energy market
- Energy elasticity
Some institutions of higher education (universities) recognise energy economics as a viable career opportunity, offering this as a curriculum. The University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam are the top three research universities, and Resources for the Future the top research institute. There are numerous other research departments, companies and professionals offering energy economics studies and consultations.
Read more about Energy Economics: History
Famous quotes containing the words energy and/or economics:
“Just as we are learning to value and conserve the air we breathe, the water we drink, the energy we use, we must learn to value and conserve our capacity for nurture. Otherwise, in the name of human potential we will slowly but surely erode the source of our humanity.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)
“The animals that depend on instinct have an inherent knowledge of the laws of economics and of how to apply them; Man, with his powers of reason, has reduced economics to the level of a farce which is at once funnier and more tragic than Tobacco Road.”
—James Thurber (1894–1961)