Spread efficiency of energy demand in the industrial chain: a perspective from economic distance

This paper investigates the spread efficiency of energy demand in the industrial chain based on the input-output method. The concept of intersectoral economic distance and spread efficiency was introduced to formulate the energy demand spread functions. Then, an empirical study was conducted based on China's 2017 input-output data and nearly 3, 500 companies were listed in the Chinese A-share market. The results show that the sectoral average spread time is 32.75 days. Manufacturing plays a central role in the spread of energy demand. In the short term, the logistics sector has the greatest pulling effect on energy demand, while the electric power sector has the greatest impact on energy demand in the long term. Energy demand caused by exports is greater than consumption and investment. Finally, sectoral economic distances and actual spread functions for 9 main energy sources are provided to help us better predict energy demand.