End-use or extraction efficiency in natural resource utilization: Which is better?

The role of technology innovations in making the wealth of non-renewable resources available to the modern economy is indisputable. Yet, there have been very few studies that compare the effects of different types of technology improvements on natural resource use. This article undertakes the comparison of the relative merits of end-use efficiency and extraction efficiency. The model used includes the dynamics of non-renewable resource use, decreasing ease of access, research and efficiency technologies. The simulation results show that, all else being equal, investments in end-use efficiency research lead to higher levels of service gained from resource use than investments in extraction efficiency alone. A combination of technologies, skewed towards end-use efficiency is superior to either by itself.