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Economic performance, environmental concerns, and renewable energy consumption: drivers of renewable energy development in Sub-Sahara Africa

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the drivers of renewable energy development and consumption in Sub-Sahara African countries for the period, 1980–2011. The fully modified ordinary least squares, dynamic ordinary least squares, and fixed-effects estimation techniques are used to evaluate the statistical significance of the determinants of renewable energy consumption. Results indicate that income has the desired positive, albeit statistically insignificant contribution to renewable energy consumption growth. This indicates that recent economic strength in the region has not been accompanied by increased development and consumption of renewable energy, in contrast to empirical evidence in other developing economies. A review of the possible reasons for this incongruence is presented. Also, increased consumption of renewable energy is associated with heightened concerns for climate change caused by pollutants such as carbon dioxide. Population and industrial expansion are statistically significant determinants of renewable consumption, and oil prices correlate negatively with renewable energy consumption.

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Notes

  1. Structural economic transformation generally refers to a shift from heavy reliance on the primary sector to growth and expansion in industrial and service sectors, shifts in resource uses, and increased productivity. Such structural transformation is characterized by both high labor mobility, especially from the primary to the manufacturing or industrial sectors, and labor productivity growth.

  2. Thanks to an anonymous reviewer for this complementary interpretation of the implication of zero growth in per capita electricity access in SSA.

  3. Average cost of all oil imported into the United States, adjusted for inflation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics & Africana Studies Program, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA, 17325, USA

    Linus Nyiwul

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Appendix

Appendix

See Figs. 5, 6, 7 and Table 4

Fig. 5
figure 5

Regional Shares of World Electricity Generation (1985–2014), source of data: BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2015

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Fig. 6
figure 6

Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption), source of data: OECD/IEA and World Bank database

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Fig. 7
figure 7

Investments in skills development in SSA, source of data United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics

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Table 4 List of countries in the sample
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Nyiwul, L. Economic performance, environmental concerns, and renewable energy consumption: drivers of renewable energy development in Sub-Sahara Africa. Clean Techn Environ Policy 19, 437–450 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-016-1229-5

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