Renewable energy consumption and economic growth: Evidence from a panel of OECD countries

This study examines the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth for a panel of twenty OECD countries over the period 1985-2005 within a multivariate framework. Given the relatively short span of the time series data, a panel cointegration and error correction model is employed to infer the causal relationship. The heterogeneous panel cointegration test reveals a long-run equilibrium relationship between real GDP, renewable energy consumption, real gross fixed capital formation. and the labor force with the respective coefficients positive and statistically significant. The Granger-causality results indicate bidirectional causality between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in both the short- and long-run. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.