Renewable Energy Consumption and its Main Drivers in Latin American and Caribbean Countries: A Robust Analysis Between Static and Dynamic Panel Data Models
This study examines the potential drivers of renewable energy consumption for 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries during 2005–2014. I use the sys-GMM method to deal with the presence of endogeneity, countryspecific components and serial correlation within observations. Results confirm the dynamic behaviour of green energy consumption. Moreover, GDP per capita and CO2 emissions per capita are the determinants of this clean energy source. The positive effect of per capita GDP implies that a non-depleting alternative source has been used to satisfy an increasing energy demand, which was experienced due to the acceleration of economic growth in the region. On the other hand, the negative effect of per capita CO2 emissions reflects the weight that fossil fuels have in the energy mix. Because of some of the analysed countries’ oil-producer nature, oil prices rise is not enough for a switch response.