Dual-Region Comparative Study on the Impact of Renewable Energy, FDI, CO₂ Emissions, and Population on Economic Growth: Evidence from ASEAN and OECD Asia-Pacific
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30872/miceb.v7i1.15588Keywords:
Renewable Energy, FDI, CO₂ Emissions, Population, Economic Growth, ASEAN, OECD Asia PacificAbstract
This study analyzes the effect of renewable energy consumption, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), CO₂ emissions per capita, and population on economic growth at two different levels of development, namely ASEAN countries as developing countries and OECD Asia Pacific countries as developed countries. Using panel data for the period 2000–2021, the estimation methods applied are the Fixed Effect Model for ASEAN and the Common Effect Model with robust standard errors for OECD Asia Pacific. The results show structural differences in the relationship between variables in the two groups of countries. Renewable energy has a significant positive effect on economic growth in ASEAN, but a significant negative effect in OECD Asia Pacific, reflecting the green growth effect in developing countries and the transition cost effect in developed countries. FDI significantly drives economic growth in ASEAN, but not significantly in the OECD Asia Pacific. CO₂ emissions are insignificant in ASEAN, but have a significant negative impact in the OECD Asia Pacific, which has entered a phase of emission reduction in accordance with the Environmental Kuznets Curve. Population is insignificant in ASEAN, but has a significant negative effect in the OECD Asia Pacific due to demographic pressures. These findings confirm that the effectiveness of energy and investment policies is influenced by the stage of economic development. Therefore, accelerating green investment and a just energy transition are necessary to ensure sustainable growth in both regions
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