Long term trends in resource exergy consumption and useful work supplies in the UK, 1900-2000

"This publication aims to explain historical economic growth in the United Kingdom (UK) economy by introducing an empirical measure for useful work derived from natural resource energy inputs into an augmented production function. To do this, long-term (1900-2000) trends in resource exergy supply and conversion to useful work in the United Kingdom were estimated. The exergy resources considered included domestic consumption of coal, crude oil and petroleum products, natural gas, nuclear, and renewable resources (including biomass). All flows of exergy were allocated to an end use such as providing heat, light, transport, human and animal work, and electrical power. The three-factor production function (of capital, labor and useful work) is able to reproduce the historic trajectory of economic growth without recourse to any exogenous assumptions of technological progress or total factor productivity. The results indicate that useful work derived from natural resource exergy is an important factor of production."