• Energy Research

PurposeThe study explores the relationship among economic growth, population growth, gross savings and energy consumption over the period 1987– 2017.Design/methodology/approachThe autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test approach by Pesaranet al.(2001) was employed to investigate variables for the study.FindingsIn the key findings, both gross savings and population growth negatively affect economic growth. However, energy consumption has positive impact on economic growth.Practical implicationsThese findings call for policy portfolios to address the impacts of gross savings and population growth on economic development. In particular, the financial sector needs to be revamped to be more efficient in channeling funds from the surplus units to the deficit units. It is recommended that investment be made in financial and technological innovation to provide efficient access to credits and other financial products even though individual savings may not move with economic growth.Originality/valueMany studies have explored the nexus between savings and economic growth without considering population growth and energy consumption. In this study, the relationship among savings, economic growth, population growth and energy consumption provide additional knowledge in policy formulation.

Abstract This study attempts to contribute to the literature on stock markets and energy prices by examining the dynamic volatility and volatility transmission between oil and Ghanaian stock market returns in a multivariate setting using the recently developed VAR–GARCH, VAR–AGARCH and DCC–GARCH frameworks. In turn, the models' results are used to compute and analyze the optimal weights and hedge ratios for oil-stock portfolio holdings. For comparison purposes and to put the paper more in the perspective of West Africa, the Nigerian stock market is also included in the analysis. Our findings point to the existence of significant volatility spillover and interdependence between oil and the two stock market returns. While spillover effects are stronger for Nigeria, the transmission of volatility is much more apparent from oil to stock than from stock to oil in the case of Ghana. Also, the study demonstrates evidence of short-term predictability in oil and stock price changes through time and reveals that conditional volatility changes more rapidly as result of substantial effects of past volatility rather than past news/shocks for all market returns. Moreover, we show that there is a slightly more effective hedge in the two stock markets under the DCC–GARCH framework (our preferred model) compared to the other two models, although hedging effectiveness is much greater for Ghana. On the whole, our findings for optimal hedge ratios are consistent with other studies and particularly the view that oil assets should be an integral part of a diversified portfolio of stocks and suggest that a better understanding of volatility links is crucial for portfolio management in the presence of oil price risk. Finally, the existence of multivariate asymmetric effects and dynamic conditional correlations as revealed by the VAR–AGARCH and DCC–GARCH models make it clear that the assumptions of symmetric effects and constant conditional correlations are not supported empirically.

Abstract The economy of Ghana continues to witness a rising demand for energy coupled with growth in gross domestic product that follows a wavy trajectory. In the midst of this economic phenomenon, there is a trend of increasing greenhouse gas emissions with attendant economic, health, and environmental consequences. This paper examines the causal interdependence between energy consumption, economic growth, and CO 2 emissions in Ghana from 1960 to 2015 by using the Toda-Yamamoto and Granger causality tests. The Johansen and Johansen-Juselius cointegration approach and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds-test approach are employed to test for cointegration relationship. The results show that the variables are cointegrated. The causality tests reveal that there is feedback Granger causality between energy consumption and CO 2 emissions. Since there is a causal link between energy consumption and economic growth with its concomitant effect on CO 2 emissions, any energy conservation-oriented policy not derived from energy efficiency and technological progress may hurt the Ghanaian economy. In effect, more effort should be aimed at improving energy efficiency through technological progress, and investment should be made in renewable energy to reduce over-reliance on fossil fuels.

Abstract The industrial energy mix of Liberia is dominated by petroleum products. This has generated serious environmental problems, contributing immensely to CO 2 emissions and other pollutants in the country. This study has attempted to investigate the potential for inter-factor and inter-fuel substitution between capital, labor, petroleum and electricity in Liberia by employing a translog production and cost function approach. Ridge regression procedure has been adopted to estimate the parameters of the function due to multicollinearity in the data. Estimation results show that all inputs are substitutes. These suggest that price-based policies, coupled with capital subsidy programs can be adopted to redirect technology use towards cleaner energy sources like electricity; hence, retaining the ability to fuel the economy, while also mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Substitution between energy and labor and energy and capital implies that removal of price ceilings on energy in Liberia would tend to reduce energy use and increase capital and labor intensiveness. Notwithstanding, the study seems to show no evidence of convergence in relative technological progress of the four inputs implying that petroleum will continue to play a dominant role in the energy consumption mix of Liberian industry while labor investment will continue to outweigh capital inputs. Finally, the findings of this study provide general insights and underscore the importance of policies that focus on installed capacity of renewable electricity, energy intensity targets as well as merger of enterprises.

The growth-induced effects of financial development have been well-established in the empirical literature, as well as the significance of financial development to energy demand behavior. However, the empirical evidence on the relationship between financial development and energy intensity remains sparse in the literature. Given the multifaceted nature of the effects of financial development, the proposed relationship seems a complex one and warrants an empirical investigation. Using the case of Ghana, this study provides an empirical answer to the question: does financial development lower energy intensity? To provide solid grounds for either rejection or acceptance of the null hypothesis, this study performed several robustness checks. Generally, the evidence revealed that financial development lowers energy intensity. Further, the results revealed that the price of energy, trade liberalization and industry structure play significant roles. These results have important implications for the design of macro energy efficiency policies and the creation of a ‘Green Bank’.