Economic Growth, Energy Consumption, and Trade Openness Nexus: Evidence from Net Energy Importing Middle-Income Countries

The study explores both the long- and short-run liaisons between three conceptual dimensions: economic growth, energy consumption, and trade openness in 29 net energy importing middle-income economies using annual data from 1990 to 2019. We hereby assess ARDL models which examine the long-run links by integrations in between these three conceptual variables, and additionally Dumitrescu–Hurlin and Granger causality tests for panel and individual country models, respectively. For panel country samples, we reveal bidirectional causality connection between trade openness and economic growth along with unidirectional causalities from economic growth to energy consumption and from energy consumption to trade openness in the short run. Bidirectional positive feedback relationships stand between economic growth– energy consumption and trade openness– energy consumption in the full sample and the upper middle–middle economies subsample in the long run. Findings for individual country estimations reveal significant long-run relationships between energy consumption and economic growth in 12, energy consumption –and trade openness in 6, and economic growth –and trade openness in 9 of the middle-income economies examined.JEL: C22, C23, F14, Q43, O50.