Energy Diversification and Economic Development in Emergent Countries: Evidence From Fourier Function-Driven Bootstrap Panel Causality Test

Abstract

Energy is a crucial development indicator of production, consumption, and nation-building. However, energy diversification highlighting renewables remains salient in economic development across developing economies. This study explores the economic impact of renewables (RE) and fossil fuel (NRE) utilization in 17 emerging nations. We use annual data with timeframe between 1980 and 2016 and propose a bootstrap panel causality approach with a Fourier function. This allows the examination of multiple structural breaks, cross-section dependence, and heterogeneity across countries. We validate four main hypotheses on the causal links attached to the energy consumption (EC)-growth nexus namely neutrality, conservation, growth, and feedback hypotheses. The findings reveal a causal relationship running from RE to GDP for Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan, and the Philippines, confirming the growth hypothesis. Besides, the results validate the conservation hypothesis with causality from GDP to RE for China, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, India, Korea, South Africa, and Turkey. We identify causality from NRE to GDP for Pakistan, Mexico, Malaysia, Korea, India, Greece, Egypt, and Brazil; and from GDP to NRE for Thailand, Peru, Malaysia, India, Greece, Egypt, and Colombia. We demonstrate that wealth creation can be achieved through energy diversification rather than relying solely on conventional energy sources.