LAUSR

Abstract The relationship between energy consumption and economic growth has deservedly received much attention in the literature due to its significance to sustainable development, particularly in countries such as China with rapid economic growth. However, few studies have explored the spatial heterogeneous nature of this relationship within countries where there are spatial variations in terms the level and speed of economic development. This study analyzes how industrial GDP and employment are related to industrial electricity consumption at prefecture city level across China using Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR). It also examines the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) and research/development (RD) in mediating the relationship between economic growth and electricity consumption. The results show that, during the study period, industrial electricity consumption became increasingly related to industrial GDP while the influence of employment diminished. However, this relationship varied over space and time with clear differences between the cities in the developed east coast and the rest of the country. Also, the FDI and RD improved efficiency in electricity consumption especially in less developed central and western regions during the study period.