Energy efficiency has long been an important issue to the global economic and political theaters; however, searching for an effective and concise measure for efficiency remains a contentious and intriguing topic. There are two obvious flaws with the commonly used metrics in existing literature. First, there is a sense of confusion and misunderstanding between the definitions of energy efficiency and efficacy. As a result, the formulae and methods for measuring efficiency are often the subject of criticism. Second, even if the definition of efficiency is clear, the method of estimation can be quite cumbersome, making it difficult to comprehend or implement. This study attempts to address these two issues. With an OECD comparative dataset, it first presents the contradiction between efficiency and efficacy, explains the loss of effectiveness with the existing measurements, and then proposes a new and easy-to-use method for gauging energy efficiency, so that the succinctness and robustness of the measurement can be re-established. The paper serves as a guide to those who are interested in the controversial issues related to measuring energy efficiency. Both practitioners and policy makers will find an easy and reliable tool from this paper for measuring energy efficiency.

Firm growth, business risk, and corporate social responsibility in Taiwan’s food industry | Shiu-Wan Hung, Chiao-Ming Li, Joe-Ming Lee | Agricultural Journals

This research investigates the relationships among operating environment, corporate governance, and employee mobility in Taiwan's food industry and technology industry. Findings show that both industry concentration and operating environment have a significant relationship with employee mobility, implying that when a firm has a market share advantage, then it should provide a better welfare mechanism. Corporate governance also has an impact on employee mobility. When the shareholding ratios of major shareholders and managers increase, more attention should be paid to the promotion and feedback mechanism of grassroots employees. Thus, corporate governance should be designed to take into account shareholder expectations and employee stability. From the empirical results, we see that the conditions of corporate governance are important factors affecting employee mobility. This study compares the food industry and the technology industry and finds that the relationship between corporate governance and employee mobility runs in opposite directions between the two industries, which means that corporate governance in the technology industry and the food industry exhibits different benefits.