Electricity consumption and economic growth: Evidence from Turkey

This study investigates the causal relationship between electricity consumption and real GDP in Turkey during the period of 1950–2000. Both of the series were found to be a stationary process around a structural break by the Zivot and Andrews test. Thus, two different methodologies have been employed to test the Granger non-causality: the Dolado–Lütkepohl test using the VARs in levels, and the standard Granger causality test using the detrended data. Both tests have yielded a strong evidence for unidirectional causality running from the electricity consumption to the income. This implies that the supply of electricity is vitally important to meet the growing electricity consumption, hence to sustain the economic growth in Turkey.     

Electricity consumption and economic growth nexus in Bangladesh: Revisited evidences

In this paper, an attempt is being made to examine the causal relationship between per capita electricity consumption and per capita GDP of Bangladesh using the vector error correction specified Granger causality test to search their short-run, long-run and joint causal relationships for the period of 1971–2008. Empirical findings reveal that there is a short-run unidirectional causal flow running from per capita electricity consumption to per capita GDP without feedback. The presence of a positive short-run causality explains that an increase in electricity consumption directly affects economic activity in Bangladesh. Likewise, results from joint causality exhibit the same as in short-run. By contrast, long-run results show a bi-directional causality running from electricity consumption to economic growth with feedback. These findings can provide essential policy insights to design immediate and long-term growth prospect for Bangladesh keeping in mind its present planned growth strategy and dismal power and energy sector.     

Electricity consumption and economic growth in seven South American countries

This paper attempts to investigate the causal relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth among seven South American countries, namely Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela using widely accepted time-series techniques for the period 1975–2006. The results indicate that the causal nexus between electricity consumption and economic growth varies across countries. There is a unidirectional, short-run causality from electricity consumption to real GDP for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, and Ecuador. This means that an increase in electricity consumption directly affects economic growth in those countries. In Venezuela, there is a bidirectional causality between electricity consumption and economic growth. This implies that an increase in electricity consumption directly affects economic growth and that economic growth also stimulates further electricity consumption in that country. However, no causal relationships exist in Peru. The documented evidence from seven South American countries can provide useful information for each government with regard to energy and growth policy.     

Electricity consumption and economic growth: A cross-country analysis

Electricity has been the foundation of economic growth, and constitutes one of the vital infra-structural inputs in socio-economic development. The world faces a surge in demand for electricity that is driven by such powerful forces as population growth, extensive urbanization, industrialization, and the rise in the standard of living. This paper attempts to ascertain whether there is a systematic relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth. To this end, we use a large set of data that spans 88 countries during the period, 1975–2004. A statistically significant inverted-U-shaped relationship between per-capita consumption of electricity and per-capita income is detected. Nevertheless, by using a purchasing power parity that is much higher than the per-capita income of all the countries in the world, the level of per-capita income is estimated at the peak point of per-capita electricity consumption to be $61,379 in 2000 constant international dollars. Moreover, we segment the sample into Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and non-OECD countries, and separately analyze the developed and developing countries. The separate estimation shows that even though the peak income is higher than the average per-capita income, a statistically significant inverted-U-shaped relationship is found in OECD and developed countries but not in non-OECD and developing countries.     

Electricity consumption and economic growth in South Africa: A trivariate causality test

In this paper we examine the causal relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth in South Africa. We incorporate the employment rate as an intermittent variable in the bivariate model between electricity consumption and economic growth—thereby creating a simple trivariate causality framework. Our empirical results show that there is a distinct bidirectional causality between electricity consumption and economic growth in South Africa. In addition, the results show that employment in South Africa Granger-causes economic growth. The results apply irrespective of whether the causality is estimated in the short-run or in the long-run formulation. The study, therefore, recommends that policies geared towards the expansion of the electricity infrastructure should be intensified in South Africa in order to cope with the increasing demand exerted by the country's strong economic growth and rapid industrialisation programme. This will certainly enable the country to avoid unprecedented power outages similar to those experienced in the country in mid-January 2008.     

Energy consumption and economic growth: Evidence from China at both aggregated and disaggregated levels

Using a neo-classical aggregate production model where capital, labor and energy are treated as separate inputs, this paper tests for the existence and direction of causality between output growth and energy use in China at both aggregated total energy and disaggregated levels as coal, oil and electricity consumption. Using the Johansen cointegration technique, the empirical findings indicate that there exists long-run cointegration among output, labor, capital and energy use in China at both aggregated and all three disaggregated levels. Then using a VEC specification, the short-run dynamics of the interested variables are tested, indicating that there exists Granger causality running from electricity and oil consumption to GDP, but does not exist Granger causality running from coal and total energy consumption to GDP. On the other hand, short-run Granger causality exists from GDP to total energy, coal and oil consumption, but does not exist from GDP to electricity consumption. We thus propose policy suggestions to solve the energy and sustainable development dilemma in China as: enhancing energy supply security and guaranteeing energy supply, especially in the short run to provide adequate electric power supply and set up national strategic oil reserve; enhancing energy efficiency to save energy; diversifying energy sources, energetically exploiting renewable energy and drawing out corresponding policies and measures; and finally in the long run, transforming development pattern and cut reliance on resource- and energy-dependent industries.     

Electricity consumption and economic growth: Bounds and causality analyses of OPEC members

This paper investigates the relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth for OPEC members. The bounds test yields evidence of a long-run relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth for all OPEC members. Causality results suggest that economic growth is dependent on electricity consumption in five countries, less dependent in three countries, and independent in three countries. Because these countries do not necessarily share similar political and economic traits, no single universal policy implication can be inferred from the results. The disparities across these causality results, therefore, stress the importance of formulating causality explanations while taking into account the particularities of individual countries rather than blindly applying the conventional interpretations.     

Linear and nonlinear causality between sectoral electricity consumption and economic growth: Evidence from Taiwan

This study investigates the linear and nonlinear causality between the total electricity consumption (TEC) and real gross domestic production (RGDP). Unlike previous literature, we solve the undetermined relation between RGDP and electricity consumption by classifying TEC into industrial sector consumption (ISC) and residential sector consumption (RSC) as well as investigating how TEC, ISC, and RSC influence Taiwan's RGDP. By using the Granger's linear causality test, it is shown that (i) there is a bidirectional causality among TEC, ISC, and RGDP, but a neutrality between RSC and RGDP with regard to the linear causality and (ii) there is still a bidirectional causality between TEC and RGDP, but a unidirectional causality between RSC and RGDP with regard to the nonlinear causality. On the basis of (i) and (ii), we suggest that the electricity policy formulators loosen the restriction on ISC and limit RSC in order to achieve the goal of economic growth.     

The causal relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth in the ASEAN countries

This paper investigates the causal relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth among the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) 4 members, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, using modern time-series techniques for the period 1971–2002. The results indicate that there is a bi-directional causality between electricity consumption and economic growth in Malaysia and Singapore. This means that an increase in electricity consumption directly affects economic growth and that economic growth also stimulates further electricity consumption in the two countries. However, uni-directional causality runs from economic growth to electricity consumption in Indonesia and Thailand without any feedback effect. Thus, electricity conservation policies can be initiated without deteriorating economic side effects in the two countries.     

Causality between energy consumption and economic growth in India: a note on conflicting results

This note examines the different direction of causal relation between energy consumption and economic growth in India. Applying Engle–Granger cointegration approach combined with the standard Granger causality test on Indian data for the period 1950–1996, we find that bi-directional causality exists between energy consumption and economic growth. Further, we apply Johansen multivariate cointegration technique on the different set of variables. The same direction of causality exists between energy consumption and economic growth. This is different from the results obtained in earlier studies.