India's pulp and paper industry: Productivity and energy efficiency

Technical Report · Thu Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/753015· OSTI ID:753015

Schumacher, Katja ^[1]

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1. LBNL Library

Historical estimates of productivity growth in India's pulp and paper sector vary from indicating an improvement to a decline in the sector's productivity. The variance may be traced to the time period of study, source of data for analysis, and type of indices and econometric specifications used for reporting productivity growth. The authors derive both statistical and econometric estimates of productivity growth for this sector. Their results show that productivity declined over the observed period from 1973-74 to 1993-94 by 1.1% p.a. Using a translog specification the econometric analysis reveals that technical progress in India's pulp and paper sector has been biased towards the use of energy and material, while it has been capital and labor saving. The decline in productivity was caused largely by the protection afforded by high tariffs on imported paper products and other policies, which allowed inefficient, small plants to enter the market and flourish. Will these trends continue into the future, particularly where energy use is concerned? The authors examine the current changes in structure and energy efficiency undergoing in the sector. Their analysis shows that with liberalization of the sector, and tighter environmental controls, the industry is moving towards higher efficiency and productivity. However, the analysis also shows that because these improvements are being hampered by significant financial and other barriers the industry might have a long way to go.

• Research Organization: Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (US) (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Director, Office of Science. Office of Biological and Environmental Research. Environmental Sciences Division (US)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 753015
• Report Number(s): LBNL--41843
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
AUGMENTATION
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMIC POLICY
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
ENERGY EFFICIENCY POLICY ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS
INDIA
PAPER INDUSTRY
PRODUCTIVITY
TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS
WOOD PRODUCTS INDUSTRY