Governance and renewable energy consumption in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess the nexus between governance and renewable energy consumption in sub-Saharan Africa. The focus is on 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with data from 1996 to 2016. The empirical evidence is based on Tobit regressions. It is apparent from the findings that political and institutional governance are negatively related to the consumption of renewable energy in the sampled countries. The unexpected findings are clarified and policy implications are discussed in the light of sustainable development goals.This study extends the extant literature by assessing how political governance (consisting of political stability and "voice & accountability") and institutional governance (entailing the rule of law and corruption-control) affect the consumption of renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa.

Do energy and firm characteristics matter for sustainable development practices? An empirical evidence

“…This study, therefore, invites future perception-based studies to test the questionnaire items used in this study as depicted in Table 2. This study did not test whether energy consumption mediates the relationship between energy governance and sustainable development practices and yet, there are studies such as those of Asongu and Odhiambo (2021) which indicate that energy governance and energy consumption are related. Future studies may, therefore, investigate whether energy consumption mediates the relationship between energy governance and sustainable development practices.…”

“…Energy governance involves the quality of NGQ attributed to market reforms and institutional settings, energy policy and legislation and information disclosures; PLS which relates to political acceptance and controlled corruption; and integration into international governance (ING) which is attributed to assistance from international development and external influences in energy policy (Zaman and Brudermann, 2017). Energy governance has been linked to energy consumption (Asongu and Odhiambo, 2021). Asongu and Odhiambo (2021) found that political and institutional governance are negatively associated with energy consumption in 44 countries found in Sub-Saharan Africa.…”

“…Energy governance has been linked to energy consumption (Asongu and Odhiambo, 2021). Asongu and Odhiambo (2021) found that political and institutional governance are negatively associated with energy consumption in 44 countries found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Such findings are surprising because one would expect that quality energy governance improves energy consumption, especially clean energy.…”

“…Such findings are surprising because one would expect that quality energy governance improves energy consumption, especially clean energy. Investigating whether energy governance improves energy consumption is not the focus of this study but provides avenues for further studies that aim to validate Asongu and Odhiambo’s (2021) findings. Koulouri and Mouraviev (2018) found that the existence of multiple energy agencies, the unstructured and ineffectual relations between renewable energy producers and operators; the ineffectual governance structures and mechanisms; the inconsistent development of the legal and regulatory framework and the uncertainty regarding the resolution of legal disputes explains why there may be a low investment in renewable energy which is one of the indicators of sustainable development practices.…”

“…Studies on energy governance tend to focus on the relationship between governance and energy consumption. For example, Asongu and Odhiambo (2021) found that political and institutional governance are negatively associated with energy consumption in 44 countries found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Such findings are surprising given that it would be expected that good political governance mechanisms such as political stability and good institutional governance such as corruption control and the rule of law would instead promote the consumption of energy products.…”