Spatial Evolution of the Energy and Economic Centers of Gravity

Abstract

Increasing energy demand and economic performance can be observed in emerging markets and, in parallel, their share in world energy use and in global GDP is growing as well. It causes significant spatial shifts and calls attention for a new geography of energy demand. The main purpose of this study is to reveal the spatial distribution of energy use and economic growth focusing on the link between them. Developing gravity models, we identify the economic and energy centres of gravity in the world and on different continents and reveal their movements between 1990 and 2015, in particular, the directions of the shifts. Bi-dimensional regression analysis and the method of standard distance are applied to compare these movements. The study utilizes cartograms to visualize how the space is changed and distorted by the field of force. It can be stated that the economic and energy centre of gravity can be found in the Mediterranean Basin, but a slow and gradual shift to the east can be observed. Currently it reflects the dominance of the north, but it marks the position loss of the northern hemisphere and the greater importance of developing economies (in the southern hemisphere).