Energy consumption and economic growth—New evidence from meta analysis

The causal relationships between energy consumption and economic growth have given rise to much discussion but remain controversial. Alternative data sets based on different time spans, countries, energy policies and econometric approaches result in diverse outcomes. A meta analysis using a multinomial logit model with 174 samples governing the relationships between GDP and energy consumption is applied here to investigate the major factors that affect these controversial outcomes. The empirical results have demonstrated how the time spans, subject selections including GDP and energy consumption, econometric models, and tools for greenhouse gases emission reduction characteristics significantly affect these controversial outcomes.

► The controversial casual relationships between energy consumption and GDP are investigated.
► A meta analysis using a multinomial logit model is adopted.
► 74 studies governing the relationships between GDP and energy consumption was collected.
► The empirical results show how the probability of major factors affects such relationships.