Toward sustainable electricity consumption in Brazil: the role of economic growth, globalization and ecological footprint using a nonlinear ARDL approach

This study investigates nonlinear effects of economic growth, globalization and ecological footprint on sustainable electricity consumption in Brazil using monthly time-series data from 1971M:01 to 2014M:12 and a nonlinear ARDL model. The results show that the effects of economic growth, globalization and ecological footprint on electricity consumption are asymmetric. A positive shock to economic growth increases electricity consumption more than a negative shock of the same magnitude causes electricity consumption to decline. In the case of globalization, the effect of a negative shock is stronger. Furthermore, the long-term effects of positive and negative shocks to the ecological footprint are negative but statistically significant only in the case of a positive shock while in the short term, the increasing effect of a positive shock to the ecological footprint is stronger than the reducing effect of a negative shock of the same magnitude. These findings are validated when globalization is disaggregated to economic, political and social dimensions.

Automated summary

The study reveals that the effects of economic growth, globalization, and ecological footprint on sustainable electricity consumption in Brazil are nonlinear and asymmetric. Positive shocks to economic growth have a greater impact on increasing electricity consumption compared to negative shocks, while negative shocks to globalization have a stronger effect. Furthermore, the long-term effects of positive and negative shocks to the ecological footprint are negative but statistically significant only in the case of a positive shock, with short-term impacts also showing a similar pattern.