The relationship between economic growth and electricity consumption from renewable and non-renewable sources: A study of Turkey

The main objective of this study is to analyze the short and long run estimates as well as the causality relationships between economic growth (GR), electricity consumption from renewable sources (RELC) and electricity consumption from non-renewable sources (NRELC) for Turkey in a multivariate model wherein capital (K) and labor (L) are included as additional variables. Using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration, the Johansen cointegration test and the Gregory–Hansen cointegration test with structural break, we show that GR, RELC, NRELC, K and L are cointegrated. Although NRELC has a long run positive effect on GR, the long run estimate of RELC is negative but insignificant at 5% level of significance. The Granger causality test based on the vector error correction model reveals the evidence of neutrality hypothesis between RELC and GR, and between NRELC and GR in Turkey in the short run. In addition, the Granger causality runs from RELC, NRELC, K and L to GR as well as from GR, RELC, K and L to NRELC in the long run, which supports the existence of growth hypothesis between RELC and GR, and feedback hypothesis between NRELC and GR in the long run. It is advised that policy makers in the Turkish government should continue to reduce the share of electricity consumption from renewable sources and encourage the usage of electricity from non-renewable sources to have sustainable long run growth rates. It is also essential to promote the investment projects to increase the efficiency of electricity generation from non-renewable sources.