energy efficiency regulation and rd activitya study of the top runner program in japan能源效率管理和研发activitya领跑者项目的研究在日本.pdfVIP

Low Carbon Economy, 2011, 2, 91-98 doi:10.4236/lce.2011.22012 Published Online June 2011 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/lce) Energy Efficiency Regulation and RD Activity: A Study of the Top Runner Program in Japan Mitsutsugu Hamamoto Faculty of Economics, Dokkyo University, Sōka, Japan. Email: hmitutug@dokkyo.ac.jp Received March 4th, 2011; revised April 13th, 2011; accepted May 2nd, 2011. ABSTRACT The Top Runner Program, a new approach to enhancing the energy efficiency of appliances and vehicles, has been in- troduced in Japan. In this paper an empirical analysis of the impact of