Green or gas in OPEC member countries: a linear and asymmetric investigation of energy-growth nexus

This study employed a combination of linear and nonlinear models to investigate the energy-growth nexus of OPEC member nations from 1960 to 2018 in a country-specific form. It questioned the environmental friendliness of the energy initiatives of OPEC member nations as major producers and exporters of crude oil. Primary evidence of the study shows energy dependence among OPEC member nations supporting the growth hypothesis. We also found complementarity in fossil fuel and renewables as inducers of growth in 70% of the studied countries and found greater growth influence of fossil fuel in the case of 16% of the studied countries. In a country like Congo, we found greater influence from renewable energy, while Gabon's status was indeterminate. The dynamic profile of the energy-growth nexus evidenced by the error correction representations in their linear and asymmetric forms shows that growth adjusts nonlinearly to energy use in about 39% of the investigated OPEC member nations, and linearly in 61% of the countries. It can be said from our findings that global initiatives on green energy are gaining grounds in a preponderance of OPEC member nations.