Türkiye’de Elektrik Tüketimi ve Ekonomik Gelişmişlik Düzeyi İlişkisi: Yatay Kesit Analizi

Energy consumption, particularly electricity consumption, has increased over the years as a result of economic development and, in turn, this has led researchers and policy makers to focus on the issue whether electricity consumption contributes to economic growth. The topic was usually examined in terms of the direction of causality which implies that the energy policies should be carefully designed. This paper empirically investigates this relationship by employing a cross-section analysis and by utilizing the data for 81 provinces in Turkey. Empirical results show that the electricity consumption positively contributes to both the levels of income and the value added. This result implies that electricity consumption may be a potential constraint for economic growth and, therefore, to sustain sufficient electricity production, necessary measures should be taken without delay.