Conference Paper
MENA Oil Exporters Need A Renewable Energy Transition Before the Oil Wells Run Dry: A Special Focus on Innovation, Financial Development and Governance
No.
ERF29AC_13
Publisher
ERF
Date
May, 2023
This paper aims, on the one hand, to examine the dynamic linkage between oil revenues and renewable energy generation in 8 oil-rich MENA countries, namely, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates over the period 1996-2020 using the Arellano-Bond difference GMM estimator and, on the other hand, to investigate the impact of innovation, financial development and governance on renewable energy production in these countries. The main findings indicate that oil rents negatively and significantly affect renewable energy production in MENA oil exporters in general and in non-GCC countries in particular. While renewable energy production in GCC countries is positively and significantly affected by oil rents. The results emphasize the importance of innovation in promoting renewable energy generation in MENA oil exporters; the innovation-led renewable energy increases at a greater pace in GCC countries than in their non-Gulf counterparts. Renewable energy production appears also to be positively and significantly affected by financial development in oil-rich MENA countries. Moreover, the results confirm the positive and significant impact of governance on renewable energy generation in oil-abundant MENA countries, and emphasize the effectiveness of the joint impact of governance and oil rents in encouraging renewable energy resource development.
Research Associates
Siham Matallah
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of...