Abstract
This paper revisits the empirical evidence on the income elasticity of energy demand by investigating whether it varies with the level of economic development. Our analysis, based on a sample of 111 countries spanning three decades, reveals that the elasticity is not constant and tends to decline as countries become wealthier. As economies become more developed, their energy intensity falls, eventually reaching zero elasticity, which indicates a decoupling between economic growth and energy demand. This finding underscores the importance of considering countries’ stages of economic development when making energy outlook projections.
