Energy Intensity, Ownership Structure and Industrial Concentration in Iran's Manufacturing Industries

In recent years, attention to the importance of optimal energy consumption has significantly increased. Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector is one of the most energy consuming sectors and its energy intensity index has always been high. In this study, we use a seemingly unrelated regression estimator to estimate factors that affect energy intensity in manufacturing industries with ten or more employees in Iran. We compare energy-based industries and non-energy-based industries. The results of this study show that while energy prices are inversely related to energy intensity in both groups of industries, the effect of rising energy prices on reducing energy intensity in energy-intensive industries is much greater. The ownership structure and industrial concentration are also inversely related to the energy intensity of industry. More privatization and increased  industrial concentration will reduce energy intensity, especially in the energy-based industries. The effect of research and development costs on energy intensity was either not significant or, contrary to expectations, was directly related to energy intensity.