UK spec may vary. Based on In the process of implementing carbon neutrality around the world,eco-friendly energy such as renewable energy is expanding. Becauserenewable energy, however, is highly variable and has a distributed formof energy, new challenges are created in balancing electricity demandand supply at the local level. Korea’s demand response projects havebeen mainly implemented in industrial and commercial sectors with highelectricity consumption, but since 2018, small-scale demand responseprojects have been implemented for residential use as well. This studytargets demand response projects in the industrial, commercial, andresidential power sectors and estimates cost-benefit ratio (BC ratio), netpresent value (NPV), and internal rate of return (IRR). and break-evenpoint (payback period). However, since the demand response project is aproject in which the government intervenes and receives national subsidies,it should be analyzed separately from the government perspective andthe user perspective. Additionally, in order to reflect the uncertainty ofcost and benefit variable, this study intends to perform a stochasticeconomic analysis using Monte Carlo simulation methods. The resultshows that in the case of the residential demand response project, theeconomic feasibility was very low from the government perspective dueto the large amount of government subsidies, but from the user perspective,the economic feasibility was very high. In the case of commercial andindustrial demand response projects, it was found that there was a needto expand their distribution as it is a desirable policy that can achieve awin-win for all stakeholders by securing economic feasibility from boththe government and user perspectives.

This study investigates the impact of public research and development (R&D)investment in energy technology on carbon intensity across 30 OECD countriesfrom 1995 to 2020. The results of the empirical exercise, employing the IEA EnergyTechnology RD&D Budgets database, show that per capita CO2 significantlydecreases in the share of energy R&D investment relative to GDP. However, ittakes two- to three years to see the effects of these investments. Our findingsemphasize the role of carbon pricing mechanisms, such as emissions tradingsystems and carbon taxation. Robustness tests on the dynamic panel modelconfirm the impact of energy R&D on emissions reduction.

This study examines the participation of the Chungcheong region inthe global value chain (GVC), which has a large intermediate trade scaleand an economic scale similar to that of Greece and Portugal. Tomeasure the GVC participation of the Chungcheong region, the regionalinput-output tables of the Bank of Korea and the multi-regionalinput-output table (MRIO) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) wereintegrated and connected in 2010, 2013, and 2015. First, the Chungcheongregion was integrated from Daejeon, Sejong, Chungnam, and Chungbukregions into a regional input-output table composed of two regions:Chungcheong and other regions outside of Chungcheong. The ADB'sMRIO was integrated into an international input-output table consistingof Korea and other countries, and the Korean portion of the internationalinput-output table was integrated using the regional input-output tablecomposed of two regions previously prepared. The GVC participation ofthe Chungcheong region measured using the MRIO was found to bemuch higher than that of regions outside of Chungcheong and evenhigher than that of Greece and Portugal with similar economic scales.

When examining the forward and backward participation of the GVC,the Chungcheong region showed a steady rate of around 45% for eachduring the target period. Furthermore, when divided into simple andcomplex participation, the forward simple participation rate of theChungcheong region was higher than its complex participation rate,which was similar to that of regions outside of Chungcheong. However,the backward complex participation rate of the Chungcheong region washigher than its simple participation rate, which was different from otherregions outside of Chungcheong. When examining by industry, the GVCparticipation of the manufacturing industry in the Chungcheong regionwas higher than that of the service industry, especially in the chemical,
electrical and electronic equipment and precision instruments, and transportequipment industries. However, the transport equipment industry showeda different pattern from other industries, with a higher forward complexparticipation rate than its forward simple participation rate.

The export structure of South Korea’s Chungnam Province exhibitsconsiderable vulnerability to external shocks, primarily due to its heavydependence on specific industries, notably the semiconductor and displaysectors dominated by large corporations, as well as its concentratedexport markets in China and Vietnam. Amid intensifying global economicuncertainties and heightened export volatility, export diversification hasemerged as a critical policy imperative for ensuring regional economicresilience and sustainable growth. This study employs both the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index and Theil Index to quantify export concentration patterns,while utilizing fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to examinethe determinants of export market diversification across 39 manufacturingindustries among regional SMEs. The analytical framework incorporates sixconditional variables: foreign investment, productivity, export competitiveness,firm distribution, product diversity, and large firm dependency.

Throughfuzzy-set calibration and truth table analysis, multiple causal configurationsleading to export market diversification are identified. The findingsdemonstrate that export market diversification among SMEs manifeststhrough four distinct patterns: global competitiveness, intra-industrydiversification, large firm linkages, and hidden champions. This researchadvances the understanding of export diversification by systematicallyanalyzing the complex configurations of conditional variables, therebyproviding an empirical foundation for developing industry-specific policyinterventions to enhance regional export resilience.