Substitution of Information for Energy: An Empirical Investigation using Input-Output Analysis for the U.S. Regional Economy

Abstract

This paper examines the substitution of information for energy in the U.S. regional economy during the 1990s using input-output (IO)-based methods. On the basis of the analyses of three-segment 10 models for the years 1990, 1995, and 2000 at three levels of geographic scales, it was found that: 1) the Information segment grew much faster than the other two segments, 2) as input factors for production, energy became more dependent on information while information became less dependent on energy, and 3) U.S. regional economies experienced a marked informatization1 process in the 1990s, especially in the Sun Belt. More studies at a variety of spatial and temporal scales are needed to comprehend the trend, mechanism, and policy implications of this informatization process.