Are shocks to nuclear energy consumption per capita permanent or temporary? A global perspective

• Applies panel unit root test with structural breaks to nuclear energy consumption.
• Longitudinal clustering is used to segment nuclear energy consumption.
• Nuclear energy consumption is stationary for the overall sample.
• Half of the sub-sample contains a unit root, while the other half does not have.
• Shocks to nuclear energy consumption will turn back to the long-run growth path.

This paper aims to examine the integration properties of nuclear energy consumption per capita by applying the panel unit root test with structural breaks in 27 countries over the period 1993–2013. To obtain comprehensive and exhaustive information, we utilize the longitudinal clustering approach to segment the overall sample into four sub-samples. We find that for the overall sample, nuclear energy consumption is stationary, while two sub-samples contain unit roots. These results imply that shocks to global nuclear energy consumption will only result in temporary deviations from the long-run growth path; however, shocks have a permanent effect on nuclear energy consumption in two sub-samples. Several implications are provided: if shocks have a lasting effect on nuclear energy consumption, policy makers should design energy conservation and stabilization policies in these countries; otherwise, we do not intervene in the process of nuclear energy consumption.