Does increasing energy or electricity consumption improve quality of life in industrial nations?

Among the world's nations, per capita energy and electricity consumption is highly correlated with diverse indicators of quality of life. This is often interpreted to mean that additional energy and electricity consumption causes improvements in life quality. Prior analyses of cross-sectional data question this interpretation for industrial nations that already have high per capita energy consumption. The present analysis with longitudinal data shows that among industrial nations, increases in per capita energy and electricity consumption over the past three decades are not associated with corresponding improvements in quality of life.

Research highlights
► Increased energy and electricity use is essential for poor nations to improve wellbeing.
► This analysis is limited to industrial nations, already high in energy consumption.
► Changes in per capita energy/electricity use are not associated with improved wellbeing.