Assessing links between energy consumption, freight transport, and economic growth: evidence from dynamic simultaneous equation models

Abstract

We investigate this study to examine the relationship between economic growth, freight transport, and energy consumption for 63 developing countries over the period of 1990-2016. In order to make the panel data analysis more homogeneous, we apply the income level of countries to divide the global panel into three sub-panels, namely, lower-middle income countries (LMIC), upper-middle income countries (UMIC), and high-income countries (HIC). Using the generalized method of moments (GMM), the results prove evidence of bidirectional causal relationship between economic growth and freight transport for all selected panels and between economic growth and energy consumption for the high- and upper-middle income panels. For the lower-middle income panel, the causality is unidirectional running from energy consumption to economic growth. Also, the results indicate that the relationship between freight transport and energy use is bidirectional for the high-income countries and unidirectional from freight transport to energy consumption for the upper-middle and lower-middle income countries. Empirical evidence demonstrates the importance of energy for economic activity and rejects the neo-classical assumption that energy is neutral for growth. An important policy recommendation is that there is need of advancements in vehicle technology which can reduce energy intensity from transport sector and improve the energy efficiency in transport activity which in turn allows a greater positive role of transport in global economic activity.

The relationship between China's income inequality and transport infrastructure, economic growth, and carbon emissions

“…In addition to the above studies, some scholars explored the carbon emissions related Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and confirmed the EKC hypotheses, such as Sarkodie and Ozturk (2020), Le and Ozturk (2020), Nasreen et al. (2018) and Sarkodie et al. (2020).…”

“…The climate change caused by carbon emissions brings different opportunities or threats to different countries and regions; hence, extensive prior studies have focused on the relationship between carbon emissions and relevant variables, such as endogenous and foreign innovation (Luo et al., 2020), coal consumption (Long et al., 2018), energy consumption and economic growth (Long et al., 2015; Nasreen et al., 2018; Sarkodie & Ozturk, 2020), urbanization and international trade (Muhammad et al., 2020), external trade (Salman et al., 2019), globalization (Le & Ozturk, 2020), technological innovation (Mensah et al., 2019) and cement production (Long et al., 2017). In addition to the above studies, some scholars explored the carbon emissions related Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and confirmed the EKC hypotheses, such as Sarkodie and Ozturk (2020), Le and Ozturk (2020), Nasreen et al.…”

Energy Crisis in Pakistan and Economic Progress: Decoupling the Impact of Coal Energy Consumption in Power and Brick Kilns

“…On the other side, massive amounts of energy consumption of both households and industry sectors have generated pollutant emissions that are a curse of the humanity, among them we find carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. This has allowed society to modernize and enhance its living conditions, along with inevitable public health challenges, via urbanization and industrialization [21,22]. Abbasi et al [23] proved in their study that energy consumption, industrial growth, and urbanization positively impact on the economic progress in Pakistan.…”

Climate Change Mitigation Pathways for the Aviation Sector

“…Air transportation, providing vital economic benefits through transporting humans and goods, is an important mode of transportation in the modern era. Air transportation plays a vital role in the pull effect of service activities and has a long-term relationship with economic growth [1,2]. According to the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), the number of global air travel passengers was 4.5 billion in 2019, and the contribution of the aviation Sustainability 2021, 13, 3656 2 of 29 sector in the global GDP was USD 691.3 billion [3].…”