| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This paper attempts to examine the electricity demand function in the Korean service sector using the annual data covering the period 1970-2011. The short- and long-run elasticities of electricity demand with respect to price and income are empirically estimated using a co-integration and error-correction model. The short- and long-run price elasticities are estimated to be -0.421 and -1.002, respectively. The short- and long-run income elasticities are computed to be 0.855 and 1.090, respectively. Electricity demand in the service sector is inelastic to changes in both price and income in the short-run, but elastic in the long-run. Therefore, it appears that a pricing policy is more effective than the direct regulation of reducing electricity demand in the long-run in order to stabilize the electricity demand in the service sector. Moreover, it is necessary to encourage a more efficient use of electricity to cope with increasing demand for electricity following economic growth because the electricity demand in the service sector is income-elastic in the long-run.
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