Patterns of Energy Transitions

The Long-Term Role of Energy in the Economic Growth of Europe

Bibliographic Data

ID20060404
AuthorsSilvana Bartoletto (Institut des Mondes Africains, corresponding author)
Year2012
Pages305-330
Publication date2012-12-31
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenuePast and Present Energy Societies (SOURCE_BOOK)
Publishertranscript-Verlag (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.14361/transcript.9783839419649.305
OpenAlexW2482585027
ISBN9783839419649
LanguageEN
References cited9

Debates and analyses on the role of energy consumption in economic growth and its environmental impact are of central interest today.Most studies, however, rely on post-1960 data and they usually focus on a single country or region, with a limited perspective on the past.In this article, the topic of energy will be analyzed from the viewpoint of economics, with a long-term historical perspective, over a period of almost 150 years.Several Western European countries will be considered (England, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden).In the transition from the old to a modern economy, energy is of central importance.In recent studies, energy has been recognized as a main determinant of the divergence of Europe from the rest of the world in the 19 th century and as the main cause of its success. 1 Despite the central importance of energy, historians dealt for a long time only sporadically with energy problems.John Nef was the first historian who analyzed energy as the main pillar of the industrial revolution. 2 After the energy crisis of the 1970s, much empirical research took place on energy, within the context of 1

Astronomical and nuclear sciences · Environmental Science · Global Energy and Sustainability Research

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