Does educational progress impact energy consumption? A causality test for India

Abstract

Purpose

Both energy and education have been positioned as priority objectives under the itinerary of UN development goals. Hence, it is necessary to address the implicit inter relationship between these two development goals in the context of developing nations such as India who are trying to grow in both per capita income and socio economic factors whilst struggling with the challenges of a severe energy supply constrained economy.

Design/methodology/approach

In the present study, the causal relationship between energy consumption per capita and education index (EI) as a proxy of educational advancement is investigated for India for 1990–2016 using the Johansen-Juselius cointegration test and vector error correction model.

Findings

The empirical results infer although energy consumption per capita and EI lack short run causality in either direction, existence of unidirectional long run causality from EI to per capita energy consumption is found for India. Further, it is observed that energy consumption per capita takes around four years to respond to unit shock in EI.

Research limitations/implications

The findings from this study imply that with the advancement of education, a rise in per capita energy consumption requirement can be foreseen on the demand side, and hence, India’s energy policy needs to emphasize further its sustainable energy supply goals to meet this additional demand coming from a population with better education facilities.

Originality/value

The authors hereby confirm that this manuscript is entirely their own original study and not submitted elsewhere.

Citation

Rej, S. and Nag, B. (2022), "Does educational progress impact energy consumption? A causality test for India", International Journal of Energy Sector Management, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 414-428. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJESM-07-2020-0021