Open Access
Long-term diversification paths and energy transitions in Europe
(Elsevier B.V., 2019) Rubio Varas, María del Mar; Muñoz Delgado, Beatriz; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
The authors propose a synthetic indicator that allows one to compare and contrast the evolution of the composition of the primary energy baskets of eight European countries over the last two centuries, and quantitatively analyze the degree of concentration (versus diversity) of their energy mixes throughout the period. The rest of the paper is organized as follows: section 2 explains the data sources and the methodology used based on concentration measures. The subsequent section focuses on the Energy Mix Concentration Index analysis and the results obtained. The article ends with a few concluding remarks.
Open Access
Machines and energy. Energy capital ratios in Europe and Latin America 1875 - 1970'
(Taylor & Francis, 2018) Ducoing Ruiz, Cristián; Gales, Ben; Hölsgens, Rick; Rubio Varas, María del Mar; Ekonomia; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Economía
The relationship between energy and capital is one of the most important aspects of modern economic growth. Machines need energy to produce all the goods we enjoy; energy would be far less useful for humankind in absence of machines. However, the great majority of the economic models do not take into account the elasticities of substitution (or complementaries) between these two main variables. Actually, energy is absent in many growth models and discussions on diverging economic development paths. We approach this relevant issue from a new perspective: energy and capital relations during 100 years. We use the latest estimations of capital stock (machinery and equipment) and energy consumption for Latin America and compare them with those of Western Europe. The energy–capital ratio (how much energy is used per unit of capital) could be a predictor of economic growth, thus providing stylised facts about the timing and causes of the different modernisation patterns of these regions and showing us some answers on the long-run relationship between energy consumption and capital accumulation.
Open Access
200 years diversifying the energy mix? Diversification paths of the energy baskets of European early comers vs. latecomers
(Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 2017) Rubio Varas, María del Mar; Muñoz Delgado, Beatriz; Economía; Ekonomia
The changes in the composition of the energy basket in the long run lead to energy transitions. Primary energy substitution models allow addressing these phenomena. However, the diversification paths of the energy mix of different countries in a long term compared perspective have not been studied yet. This paper proposes an indicator, based on the Herfindahl‐Hirschman Index, the Energy Mix Concentration Index (EMCI), to quantify the degree of diversification of the primary energy basket of eight European countries over the last two centuries. The results reveal that early comers, which are large energy consumers, required a huge concentration of their energy basket in the 19th century; however, the observed countries had converged to similar levels of diversification of their energy mixes from the second half of the 20th century, and more crucially after the oil crises. For some countries, today’s degree of diversification is the largest in their energy histories, but it is not the case for all of them. Our results suggest that small energy consuming countries would be able to achieve higher diversification, and therefore to do a faster transition to a low carbón economy, than large energy consumers.

Rubio Varas, María del Mar

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