Energy Consumption and Total Factor Productivity Dynamics in the Industrial Sector

In this paper, the relationship between energy consumption and total factor productivity (TFP) in the industrial sector in Iran has been investigated using threshold-type nonlinear relationships. The results of estimating a two-threshold model in a sample including data related to 110 industrial branches during the years 2002-2019 show that the effect of energy consumption on the TFP in the industry sector is state-dependent on the energy consumption state or regime and the energy consumption variable coefficients in all regimes has a negative and significant effect on the TFP. If the energy consumption in Iran's industrial sector exceeds a certain threshold, the negative effect of energy consumption on the TFP will intensify. Also, the effect of energy consumption on the TFP in the industry sector is a state dependent on the TFP state or regime, so in low TFP regimes or states, the effect of energy consumption on the TFP of industries is considerable, but in high TFP regimes, industries with higher TFP have a much lower negative impact of energy consumption on their TFP.