The relationship between economic growth, consumption of energy, and environmental degradation: renewed evidence from Andean community nations

Abstract

The relationship between economic growth, consumption of energy, and environmental degradation was investigated for a panel of four Andean community countries over the period of 43 years (from 1971 to 2014). The Panel Vector Autoregression method was used. The results demonstrated the existence of a bidirectional relationship between economic growth to consumption of energy, CO2 emissions to economic growth, and consumption of energy to CO2 emissions. Moreover, the empirical findings of this study not only help to advance literature that approaches the relationship between human activity and environment but also warrant attention from policymakers the need of changes for the energy mix in the Andean countries.