Natural gas consumption and economic performance in selected sub‐Saharan African countries: A heterogeneous panel ARDL analysis

This study analyses the effect of natural gas consumption on economic performance in selected sub‐Saharan African countries between 1998 and 2017. The lag augmented vector autoregressive approach of Toda and Yamamoto to heterogeneous mixed panels illustrated in Emirmahmutoglu and Kose and the dynamic heterogeneous techniques are employed in data analysis. The study finds a significant long‐run relationship between the real gross domestic product and natural gas consumption. The study also reveals that natural gas consumption has a significant positive influence on economic performance in the short run. Furthermore, the results support the conservative hypothesis for the selected sub‐Saharan African countries. Therefore, it is reasonable for the selected sub‐Saharan African countries to formulate and promote cost‐effective and eco‐friendly energy and environmental policies that will enhance the use of natural gas without reducing economic performance in the long run.