提高能源价格与能源使用效率的福利比较

Increasing Energy Prices or Improving Energy Efficiency:A Comparative Study from a Welfare Perspective

提高能源价格与提高能源使用效率均可降低经济体的能源消耗强度。但提高能源价格是通过产业紧缩以达到能源消耗强度的降低,而提高能源使用效率则主要通过降低经济体的能耗强度以达到降低经济体能源消费量的目的,在此过程中经济体整体产出水平并不会降低。另一方面,提高能源价格会降低整个社会的福利水平,同时会增加能源生产部门与政府部门收入,而这种收入实现则是来自其他群体福利的转移。而提高能源使用效率的方法则可以增进社会福利水平,符合经济发展方向,在不破坏既有利益格局的情况下,促进经济和谐发展。

Both increasing energy prices and improving energy efficiency can lower the energy consumption level of the economy. Increasing energy prices will reduce industrial output while improving energy efficiency will lower the energy consumption level of the economy without reducing the total output of the economy. On the other hand, increasing energy prices will result in reductions in social welfare but increases in the revenue of the energy production sector and the government, which result from transference from other groups＇welfare. It is argued that by improving energy efficiency we can improve our social welfare and promote a harmonious development without affecting the existing pattern of interest, which is consistent with the correct direction of economie development.