88 T. WAKIYAMA ET AL.
a result of emergency-response issues that emerged following the
Fukushima nuclear accidents.
5.5 CONCLUSION
The fi ndings discussed above show that electricity (wind, solar PV non-
residential and residential) present the strongest backward linkage values,
which indicates that an increase in production or investment in these
sectors will have positive economic impacts, by increasing the demand for
all input sectors (backward). The accounting multiplier analysis shows that
low-carbon investment in renewable energy sectors in Yokohama from
2005 to 2011 had positive economic effects on the city. In 2005, the
economic impact of low-carbon investment in renewable energy sectors in
Yokohama amounted to 0.3 million JPY. This value increased to 3.4
million JPY in 2011.
In this study, we are aware that further improvement of the extended
version of input–output model is required, as it cannot measure exports
from outside of Japan. In our input–output table, this paper does not con-
sider imported products, as it does not distinguish imported products
from domestic products for Japan and Yokohama. For instance, because of
the economic impact of investments in the Hama Wind Power Plant in
Yokohama, signifi cant economic effects were not anticipated at the manu-
facturing level in Yokohama, as the plant is a foreign-made wind power
generation facility (made in Denmark). It is thus important to determine
the domestic impact of renewable energy investment, particularly in the
analyses of employment effects. A more detailed study on the effects of
low-carbon investment in renewable energy sectors in Yokohama on
employment and environmental aspects may be necessary as a complement
to this study.
Table 5.5 Economic effects
(change in total output) of changes
in renewable energy sector invest-
ment in Yokohama from 2006 to
2011 (Million JPY)
Year Change in total output (Δ X )
2006 0.3
2007 0.5
2008 1.1
2009 1.7
2010 2.4
2011 3.4
Source: Authors