THE ROLE OF ENERGY SECURITY IN ECONOMIC GROWTH IN ASIA: QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS AND POLICY OPTIONS

Abstract

Rapid economic growth in Asia recently has been driving global energy demand and prices. However, little progress has been made concerning the region’s energy security. To assess Asia’s progress in energy security and its impact on real income per capita growth, the 4-As energy security framework — energy availability, applicability, affordability and acceptability dimensions — is integrated into the cross-country generalized method of moments (GMM) model and empirically estimated using data from 20 Asian countries (1995–2015). Results indicate that energy security measured by expanding renewable energy use, increase in electricity access and electric power consumption per capita growth are positively associated with real income per capita growth, while a larger share of imported energy and higher energy intensity hinder growth. Meanwhile, climate security is included in the energy security framework; the results suggest that an increase in CO 2 emissions has a negative impact on economic growth. Possible policy implications for improving energy security in Asia are discussed in the conclusion.