Convergence in energy intensity of GDP: Evidence from West African countries

As convergence in energy-related series has implications for sustainable energy consumption, researchers in the field of energy economics are interested in investigating the stochastic nature of energy related series, including the energy intensity of GDP. However, there is a limited focus on West Africa which is a major economic block within the African continent. This study thus contributes to the extant literature by investigating the convergence of energy intensity of GDP amongst the 15-member countries of the ECOWAS. Using time-series data from 1988 to 2019, the sigma, beta as well stochastic convergence tests were conducted. Overall, results show that the energy intensity of GDP converges for the majority of the West-African countries. In this regard, regionally coordinated energy policies will improve energy efficiency and promote sustainable energy consumption more than the national energy policy of individual West-African countries.(c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigates the convergence of energy intensity of GDP among the 15-member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The results show that the energy intensity of GDP converges for the majority of West African countries. Therefore, regionally coordinated energy policies will improve energy efficiency and promote sustainable energy consumption.