ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND STRUCTURAL-CHANGE IN THE NETHERLANDS, 1980-1990

A monitoring method was developed with which changes in the energy con sumption of a country can be analyzed. A special feature of this metho d is that we used physical instead of economic indicators of activity wherever possible. The method distinguishes between the influences of improved energy efficiency and structural changes. With this method, t he energy consumption in the Netherlands was studied for the period 19 80-1990. The energy-to-GDP ratio decreased by 2.1% annually between 19 80 and 1985 and by 0.3% between 1985 and 1990. A large part of this de crease can be attributed to the decreasing specific energy consumption in the subsectors. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.