Energy distribution, power laws, and economic growth

Arbeitspapier

The natural sciences have established a general scaling law that relates metabolism and body size of animals. Recently this association - known as Kleiber's law - has received deep theoretical foundation by network theory and has been fruitfully applied to explain various biological phenomena, in particular ontogenetic growth. Here we derive a similar power law for economic metabolism (energy consumption per capita) and economic size (capital per capita). Invoking the power law we provide a metabolic-energetic founded law of motion for capital per capita. Using data for the U.S. states we test the resulting structural model and find evidence in favor of a scaling parameter, between energy and capital per capita, of about 2/3.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Diskussionsbeitrag ; No. 385

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft
• Subject: Economic Growth ; Energy ; Metabolism ; Power Laws ; Networks ; Energiekonsum ; Gesamtwirtschaftliches Anlagevermögen ; Sozialprodukt ; Business Network ; Stoffstrom-Management ; Statistische Verteilung ; Theorie ; USA

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Dalgaard, Carl-Johan ; Strulik, Holger
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät
• (where): Hannover
• (when): 2008

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/27195
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET