Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica, Vol 13, No 5 (2017)

Abstract

In this study, both renewable and nonrenewable energy consumption and economic growth relations were examined by the bootstrap panel Granger causality method covering the period 1996-2014 for G7 countries. The findings show a unidirectional causality moving from renewable energy consumption to economic growth in Germany and Japan, and a bidirectional causality between these two variables in France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Regarding nonrenewable energy consumption, unidirectional causality moving from nonrenewable energy consumption to economic growth in Canada and the United States, and the causality in the opposite direction is valid in the United Kingdom and Germany. Also in Japan, there is a bidirectional causality relationship between these two variables. As a result, energy consumption is an important factor for G7 countries' economic growth.