Renewable Energy and Sustainable Economic Growth: A Review of U.S. States and the District Of Columbia from 2000-2021
Year: 2024
Type: dissertation
Abstract: With the impacts of climate change observable in every region globally, immediate action is needed to address anthropogenic causes.Historically, economic growth has been tied to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, a principal driver of climate change.In recent years, however, some countries have begun decoupling economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions, often in large part via the transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources.This renewable energy transition marks an opportunity for sustainable economic growth.This thesis uses a panel of U.S. states and the District of Columbia from 2000 to 2021 to analyze the effect of renewable energy production on economic growth.Current literature analyzing this relationship is limited, and results are somewhat varied.Using multivariate regression, this study examines the effect of both total renewable energy production, and renewable energy production disaggregated into combustible (i.e., biofuels, wood, and waste) and noncombustible forms (i.e., wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal).The results indicate no statistically significant effect of renewable energy production on GDP per capita in U.S. states from 2000 to 2021.
Author: Tatum, Nathan
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7014843328