The influence of economic factors on sustainable energy consumption: a comparative approach between the OECD and Western Balkan countries
Atdhetar Gara et al.
What the paper says
This study investigates the influence of economic factors—such as energy use, foreign direct investment, inflation, GDP per capita, trade, population growth, and unemployment—on sustainable energy consumption (SEC) and renewable energy consumption (REC) across 38 OECD and 6 Western Balkan countries from 2010 to 2022. Adopting a comparative approach, the research sheds light on how varying economic contexts shape energy sustainability outcomes in developed and emerging economies. Using panel data from the World Bank and The Global Economy Database, we estimate regression models (OLS, fixed effects, random effects) and employ the generalized method of moments (GMM). We accounted for potential endogeneity with the use of GMM and verified it with Arellano-Bond and Sargan tests. The analysis found that GDP per capita and the openness of a country to trade were positively connected to SEC. Also, inflation and unemployment can serve as disincentives for the use of renewable energy. The findings provide insights for effective energy sustainable development thinking, especially given the economic development and goals for sustainable energy outcomes.
Evidence weight
Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40
| F · citation impact | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
| M · momentum | 0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07 |
| V · venue signal | 0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03 |
| R · text relevance † | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.