Renewable, non-renewable energy consumption and income in top ten renewable energy-consuming countries: Advanced Fourier based panel data approaches

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on economic growth in the top ten renewable energy-consuming countries over the period 1970–2019 using newly developed Fourier panel cointegration and causality tests. The negligence of structural breaks can significantly alter causal relationships, leading to misinterpretation of renewable energy policies. This study eliminates the problem using Fourier-based techniques. The long-run estimates show that non-renewable energy supports economic growth in eight out of the ten countries, while renewable energy has a positive effect on economic growth in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and France. The Fourier causality test indicates that the energy-led growth hypothesis is valid for both types of energy in the United States, India, the United Kingdom, and Spain. While the non-renewable energy-led growth hypothesis is valid for Italy, the conservation hypothesis is valid for both energy variables for Germany and for renewable energy for China. The overall results show that renewable energy can also be an important driver of economic growth, although not as strong as non-renewable energy. Therefore, countries need to closely monitor economic development while pursuing policies to reduce fossil fuels and deploy renewables in a way that enables higher economic growth.