Effects of Renewable Energy Consumption on Human Development: Empirical Evidence From Asian Countries

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of renewable energy consumption along with some other regressors namely income by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, foreign remittances, inflation rate, growth in population on human development in eight Asian countries (Pakistan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Japan) from 1995 to 2018. Based on the nature of panel balanced data, we employed the fully modified ordinary least squares and fixed-effects estimators for the empirical investigation. The empirical estimates exhibit that renewable energy usage, foreign remittances and real per capita income have substantial positive impacts on human development. In contrast, inflation rate and growth in population have negative link with human development in the sample countries. Empirical estimates reveal that renewable energy usage positively contribute enhancing human development. These findings expose that the availability and accessibility of renewable energy will not only improve human development rather will also help in accomplishing sustainable development goals. Empirical findings suggest that the management authorities need to allocate more budget in investment in renewable energy schemes and also create environment which facilitate by providing incentives to the private sector also for renewable energy production in the Asian countries.