Powering Productivity: Mapping the Role of Energy Infrastructure in UK Labour Productivity using Expert Elicitation and a Thematic Literature Review

能源可能是英国生产率的一个重要因素（定义为每小时工作产生的产出）。能源可能影响英国生产力的一种方式是通过成本。能源价格是英国企业生产成本的重要组成部分，影响着他们的投资决策。能源的另一个重要方面是通过运输。交通拥堵影响了城市的生产力，而减少拥堵的努力也受到能源基础设施和供应的影响，而这两者目前都在发生变化。如果能源对生产力很重要，那么了解英国能源基础设施的变化如何影响英国生产力增长就很重要。可再生能源在英国能源供应中的份额越来越大。从可再生能源中提取能源比从传统的石油、煤炭和天然气中提取能源更难。这意味着它需要更多的能量来获得相同数量的能量。因此，使用更多的可再生能源可能意味着英国必须使用越来越多的能源来支持相同数量的经济活动。能源（和能源基础设施）不是免费的，因此该国可能不得不花费更多的资金来生产同样数量的产出。然而，可再生能源相对便宜，而且越来越便宜。这对生产力来说可能是个好消息，因为它可能会增加对新技术的投资。反过来，这可能会使可再生能源更有效率，对可再生能源的投资可以作为促进生产率增长的一种方式。因此，可再生能源对生产率增长是好是坏取决于这些因素和其他因素如何相互作用。本项目旨在总结现有的证据基础，以尝试回答这类问题。我们的研究将回顾现有的工作，探索能源和生产力之间的关系。使用书目和计算机辅助定性数据分析软件，我们将构建和分析研究文献数据库。与此同时，还将与来自商界、政府和学术界的专家进行接触。专家们将帮助我们确定英国能源和生产力之间的关键关系，并帮助我们浏览证据库。将通过一份调查问卷和一系列制图讲习班收集专家意见。讲习班将制作若干图表，显示证据库各部分之间的联系（“知识地图”）。这些地图将用于识别和组织英国能源和生产力辩论中最重要的证据。通过这种方式，专家们将专注于我们对研究文献的审查。这个研究项目将提供创新的可视化和书面报告。这些成果将总结现有的知识之间的关系，能源和英国的生产力。在讲习班上制作的初步知识地图将由专业设计人员制作成信息图表。这些信息图表将以两种形式制作，一种适合离线使用，一种适合在线使用。后者将是互动和可更新的。此外，我们还将建立一个开放的文献数据库，并编写一份书面报告，总结能源和英国生产力证据基础的关键教训。这些产出将放在可持续繁荣理解中心的网站上，并将通过博客帖子和社交媒体运动加以宣传，希望该项目将加强关于联合王国生产力的讨论，并建设和提高决策者、研究人员和私营部门行为者的能力。

Energy is likely to be an important element of UK productivity (defined as the amount of output generated per hour worked). One way that energy might impact UK productivity is through cost. The price of energy is an important part of the cost of production for UK firms and affects their investment decisions. Another way that energy is important is through transport. Traffic congestion affects the productivity of cities, and attempts to reduce congestion are affected by energy infrastructure and supply, both of which are currently changing. If energy is important for productivity, then it is important to try understand how changes in UK energy infrastructure might affect UK productivity growth.Renewable energy has a growing share of the UK energy supply. It is harder to extract energy from renewable sources than from conventional oil, coal and gas. This means that it requires greater energy in to get the same amount of energy out. As a result, using more renewable energy might mean that the UK has to use more and more energy to support the same amount of economic activity. Energy (and energy infrastructure) is not free, so the country might have to spend more of its finances producing the same amount of output. However, renewable energies are relatively cheap, and getting cheaper. This could be good news for productivity because it might increase investment in new technologies, for example. In turn this might make renewables more efficient, and investment in renewable energy could be used as a way to boost productivity growth. So, whether renewable energy is good or bad for productivity growth depends on how these and other factors interact. This project aims to summarise the existing evidence base in order to try answer this kind of question.Our research will review the existing body of work that explores the relationship between energy and productivity. Using bibliographic and computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software we will construct and analyse a database of research literature. This will be complemented by engagement with experts from business, government and academia. Experts will help us to identify the key relationships between energy and productivity in the UK, and help us navigate the evidence base. Expert views will be gathered by a questionnaire and then by a series of mapping workshops. The workshops will produce several diagrams that show the links between parts of the evidence base ('knowledge maps'). These maps will be used to identify and organise the most important pieces of evidence in the debates around energy and productivity in the UK. In this way, the experts will focus our review of the research literature.This research project will deliver innovative visualisations and a written report. These deliverables will summarise existing knowledge on the relationship between energy and UK productivity. Initial knowledge maps, produced in the workshops, will be developed by professional designers into infographics. These infographics will be produced in two forms, one suitable for offline use and one for online use. The latter will be interactive and updateable. In addition, we will produce an open access database of the literature, and a written report summarising key lessons from the evidence base on energy and UK productivity. These outputs will be hosted on the website of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, and will be promoted with blogposts and a social media campaign.It is hoped that this project will enhance discussions on UK productivity and build and increase capacities for policymakers, researchers and private sector actors.