Honorata Nyga-Łukaszewska

Energy security and international competitiveness are two of the most fiercely discussed topics – especially in the light of the European Union (EU)’s dependence on Russia’s gas, oil, and coal. Both mentioned concepts are of special importance for the so-called EU new member states (EU NMS), which are undergoing the energy diversification process. The main goal of this paper is to analyze how energy security influences the international competitiveness of these countries. The study uses trade theories related to productivity differentials (Ricardian hypothesis) and differences in factor endowments (Heckscher–Ohlin hypothesis) as a basis for our econometric modeling. The results show that relative energy supply as well as physical and human capital relative endowments have a statistically significant impact on international competitiveness of the studied economies.

International competitiveness and energy security are important topics on the energy policy agenda of energy-exporting and -importing nations. High dependence on energy rents challenges exporters’ economies and influences their ability to compete on international markets. The goal of this study is to investigate how energy demand security affects the international competitiveness of developed energy exporters. This research employs an econometric approach aimed at modeling the Heckscher–Ohlin and Ricardo international trade hypotheses. Introduced modifications allow for the measurement of international competitiveness on a country level, not per industry, and includes a series of energy variables in addition to relative resource endowment and productivity differentials. This study (based on Norway, the Netherlands, Canada and the USA over the period of 1997–2017) proves that energy security does not play a role in the shaping of international competitiveness of high-income energy-exporting countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic storm has struck the world economies and energy markets with extreme strength. The goal of our study is to assess how the pandemic has influenced oil and gas prices, using energy market reactions in the United States and Japan. To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 cases on the crude oil and natural gas markets, we applied the Auto-Regressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) approach to the number of the US and Japanese COVID-19 cases and energy prices. Our study period is from 21 January 2020 to 2 June 2020, and uses the latest data available at the time of model calibration and captures the so-called “first pandemic wave”. In the US, the COVID-19 pandemic had a statistically negative impact on the crude oil price while it positively affected the gas price. In Japan, this negative impact was only apparent in the crude oil market with a two-day lag. Possible explanations of the results may include differences in pandemic development in the US and Japan, and the diverse roles both countries have in energy markets.

Energy security is one of the most frequently analysed phenomena in the energy markets. Great variety of scientifc efforts should have indicated clear definition of the phenomenon. However, those studies highlighted more than 80 different definitions of what energy security really is. Due to the...

Energy security is one of the most intensely debated topics. Majority of papers treat the issue from the hydrocarbon market perspective, but this research focuses on the coal market broken into two specific market segments: heating and electricity production. Using the case of Poland as an example, we conduct a cointegration analysis between the coal and natural gas markets. The study uses monthly data from 2011 until the beginning of 2019. Our results show that the Polish electricity sector is more connected to the international coal market than it is to the natural gas market, while the heating sector, despite using insignificant quantities of imported coal, is more connected to the natural gas market. Hence, energy security—in its price dimension—in those two market segments differs. This situation has important policy implications. First, energy policy should take this difference into account, and second, such variation implies that different market tools should be used in those market segments.

Zagadnienia związane z rynkiem energii są istotnym elementem polityki gospodarczej każdego kraju. Jednym z nich jest kwestia bezpieczeństwa energetycznego. Studia literaturowe wskazują na bogactwo wysiłków definiujących to zjawisko. Przedmiotem szczególnej analizy w tekście jest jego klasyczne ujęcie, w którego centrum zainteresowania znajdują się szoki cenowe na rynkach paliw. Z powodu silnego uzależnienia Polski od importowanych paliw (ropy naftowej i gazu ziemnego) zasadne wydaje się podjęcie badania, którego celem byłoby określenie wpływu zmian cen importowanych surowców na PKB. Analiza obejmuje lata 2010–2016, a w badaniu korzysta się z prostego modelu importu netto autorstwa Banku Światowego. Przeprowadzona analiza pokazuje, że każdy okres wzrostu cen energii na rynkach międzynarodowych wiązał się z pogorszeniem terms of trade (towarowych), zaś spadek – z ich poprawą. Dlatego spadek terms of trade dla Polski w latach 2010–2014 przełożył się na spadek PKB o 0,1–0,2%.