The following is a brief overview of the history of energy economics:

1. Early research: While energy economics as a separate field did not exist in the early 20th century, some economists did study energy issues. For example, Harold Hotelling’s 1931 paper “The Economics of Exhaustible Resources” provided an early framework for analyzing the extraction of non-renewable resources.
2. The oil crises: The oil crises of the 1970s led to a surge in research on energy economics, as policymakers and industry stakeholders sought to understand the economic impacts of oil price shocks and to develop policies to reduce oil dependence.
3. Deregulation: In the 1980s and 1990s, many countries began to deregulate their energy markets, leading to new research on the structure and behaviour of energy markets and the effects of deregulation on energy prices and investment.
4. Climate change: In the late 1990s and early 2000s, climate change emerged as a major concern in energy economics, leading to new research on the economic and environmental impacts of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote renewable energy.