Publication

This working paper on energy shortages is part of the INDES (Insuring against Disruptions of Energy Supply) project, a project financed by the European Commission. It discusses the costs of energy supply disruptions, which for industrialized economies go well beyond the economic measures of national accounts. The authors summarize the different ways an economy is affected by an oil shock or a power black-out. Oil crises produce high inflation rates, trade and payments imbalances, high unemployment, and weak business and consumer confidence. The social costs of electricity shortages however have immediate negative results, but relatively small, indirect effects.