IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v87y2025icp2103-2125.html

Can green trade promotion lessen energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa? The role of macroeconomic performance index

Author

Listed:
  • Yang, Shaohua
  • Gakuru, Elias
  • Wang, Yuting

Abstract

This study explores the effect of green trade (GT) on energy poverty (EP) moderating the macroeconomic performance (MP) levels in this nexus. It examined panel data from 28 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries covering the years 2000 to 2021. Reflecting the non-normal distribution of the data, a panel quantile regression technique (PQR) was applied to address both distribution characteristics and unobserved individual differences. The Partial Linear Functional Coefficient (PLFC) method was adopted for deep nonlinearity analysis. First, both PQR and PLFC results indicate that GT has significant positive nonlinear impacts on EP alleviation. Second, the PQR findings indicate that GT positively impacts EP alleviation more in countries with lower EP than in those with high EP. The PLFC results indicated that countries with MP that surpass the established threshold experience a significant increase in the positive impacts of GT on EP alleviation. Considering the heterogeneity of regional and settlement patterns, the Eastern and Southern regions exert a greater adverse effect of GT on EP than the Western and Central regions of SSA, with urban areas experiencing higher impacts than rural areas. The results remain consistent even when considering variable substitution, various heterogeneity, and endogeneity issues, demonstrating that GT exerts nonlinear positive heterogeneous impacts on EP alleviation. Our results advocate for focused efforts to reduce EP, promote MP and enhance GT within the four established power pools in SSA. The governments should negotiate more green products trade agreements, green joint ventures and green bonds promotion in SSA. In addition, governments should enhance macroeconomic conditions by investing in hands-on skills training development through more partnerships with industries and effective governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Shaohua & Gakuru, Elias & Wang, Yuting, 2025. "Can green trade promotion lessen energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa? The role of macroeconomic performance index," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 2103-2125.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:87:y:2025:i:c:p:2103-2125
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2025.08.014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592625003340
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2025.08.014?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nazım Ekren & Elçin Aykaç Alp & Mete Han Yağmur, 2017. "Macroeconomic performance index: a new approach to calculation of economic wellbeing," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(53), pages 5462-5476, November.
    2. Brock, William A. & Hommes, Cars H., 1998. "Heterogeneous beliefs and routes to chaos in a simple asset pricing model," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 22(8-9), pages 1235-1274, August.
    3. Dominique Guegan, 2009. "Chaos in Economics and Finance," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-00375713, HAL.
    4. Day, R H, 1992. "Complex Economic Dynamics: Obvious in History, Generic in Theory, Elusive in Data," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 7(S), pages 9-23, Suppl. De.
    5. Murshed, Muntasir & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2023. "Rethinking energy poverty reduction through improving electricity accessibility: A regional analysis on selected African nations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    6. Li, Jiaman & Dong, Jiajia & Liu, Guixian & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2024. "Can green trade development promote energy security in China? The role of financial development," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 1840-1858.
    7. Pereira, Diogo Santos & Marques, António Cardoso, 2023. "How do energy forms impact energy poverty? An analysis of European degrees of urbanisation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    8. Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2001. "Applications of Generalized Method of Moments Estimation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 87-100, Fall.
    9. Allan Schmid, A. & Robison, Lindon J., 1995. "Applications of Social Capital Theory," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(1), pages 59-66, July.
    10. Fayyaz Ahmad & Muhammad Umar Draz & Su-Chang Yang, 2018. "Causality nexus of exports, FDI and economic growth of the ASEAN5 economies: evidence from panel data analysis," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(6), pages 685-700, August.
    11. Narayan, Seema & Narayan, Paresh Kumar, 2024. "Clean energy for the Pacific Island countries: Does donor funding promote this transition?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    12. Nepal, Rabindra & Zhao, Xiaomeng & Dong, Kangyin & Wang, Jianda & Sharif, Arshian, 2025. "Can artificial intelligence technology innovation boost energy resilience? The role of green finance," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    13. Mohsin, Muhammad & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2022. "Nexus between financial development and energy poverty in Latin America," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    14. Yasmeen, Rizwana & Shah, Wasi Ul Hassan, 2025. "Impact of business cycles on energy poverty: Exploring the significance with sustainable development goals in newly industrialized economies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 378(PA).
    15. Mounir Dahmani & Mohamed Mabrouki & Adel Ben Youssef, 2022. "ICT, trade openness and economic growth in Tunisia: what is going wrong?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 2317-2336, November.
    16. Maket, Isaiah, 2024. "Rethinking energy poverty alleviation through financial inclusion: Do institutional quality and climate change risk matter?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    17. Dominique Guegan, 2007. "Chaos in economics and finance," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne b07054, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne, revised Jan 2009.
    18. Yao, Min & Liu, Lei, 2025. "Does population aging aggravate energy poverty: An examination of clean cooking fuel choice in rural China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 210-230.
    19. Mukhtarov, Shahriyar & Mikayilov, Jeyhun I., 2023. "Could financial development eliminate energy poverty through renewable energy in Poland?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    20. Gakuru, Elias & Yang, Shaohua & Yang, Ling & Wang, Yuting & Adegboyo, Olufemi Samuel & Ndayambaje, J․D & Hussain, Chaudhary Saad Ullah, 2025. "Asymmetric nexus of green energy inclusion and green trade spillover effects on economic growth: Insights from China's experience for EAC-6," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 475-493.
    21. van der Kroon, Bianca & Brouwer, Roy & van Beukering, Pieter J.H., 2013. "The energy ladder: Theoretical myth or empirical truth? Results from a meta-analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 504-513.
    22. Cao, Andi & Su, Mengying & Li, Houjian, 2024. "Digitizing the green revolution: E-commerce as a catalyst for clean energy transition in rural China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    23. Dominique Guegan, 2009. "Chaos in economics and finance," Post-Print halshs-00187885, HAL.
    24. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Siddiqui, Aaliyah & Sinha, Avik & Bigerna, Simona, 2024. "Does financial development enhance access to electricity? A rural-urban perspective in India," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    25. Bowen, Brian H. & Sparrow, F. T. & Yu, Zuwei, 1999. "Modeling electricity trade policy for the twelve nations of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP)," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 183-197, September.
    26. Gakuru, Elias & Yang, Shaohua & Namahoro, J.P. & Nie, Peng & Bunje, Madinatou Yeh & Aslam, Naveed, 2024. "Energy-focused green climate policies and trade nexus:Do heterogeneous effects on clean energy poverty matter?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    27. Ampofo, Akwasi & Mabefam, Matthew Gmalifo, 2021. "Religiosity and Energy Poverty: Empirical evidence across countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    28. repec:osf:osfxxx:kbj69_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. Islam, Md. Monirul & Sohag, Kazi & Alam, Md. Mahmudul, 2022. "Mineral import demand and clean energy transitions in the top mineral-importing countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    30. Hosier, Richard H. & Dowd, Jeffrey, 1987. "Household fuel choice in Zimbabwe : An empirical test of the energy ladder hypothesis," Resources and Energy, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 347-361, December.
    31. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Yuan, Zihao, 2024. "Impact of energy poverty on public health: A non-linear study from an international perspective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    32. Zhong, Sheng & Goh, Tian & Su, Bin, 2022. "Patterns and drivers of embodied carbon intensity in international exports: The role of trade and environmental policies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    33. Khan, Zeeshan & Haouas, Ilham & Trinh, Hai Hong & Badeeb, Ramez Abubakr & Zhang, Changyong, 2023. "Financial inclusion and energy poverty nexus in the era of globalization: Role of composite risk index and energy investment in emerging economies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 382-399.
    34. Kouladoum, Jean-Claude & Ngouhouo, Ibrahim & Wendji Miamo, Clovis, 2023. "Wellbeing in Africa: The role of technology transfer," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    35. Long, Han & Prasad, Biman & Krishna, Victor & Tang, Kai & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2024. "Understanding the key determinants of Fiji's renewable energy," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 1144-1157.
    36. Chen, Huangxin & Zhao, Xin & Smutka, Luboš & Henry, James Tumba & Barut, Abdulkadir & Shahzad, U., 2025. "Exploring the impact of China's low carbon energy technology trade on alleviating energy poverty in Belt and Road Initiative countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    37. Dominique Guegan, 2009. "Chaos in Economics and Finance," Post-Print halshs-00375713, HAL.
    38. Mello, Marcelo & Perrelli, Roberto, 2003. "Growth equations: a quantile regression exploration," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 643-667.
    39. Windbeneti Arnaud Zahonogo, 2025. "Do tariff reductions alleviate energy poverty? Evidence for Sub-Saharan African countries," Post-Print hal-04822922, HAL.
    40. Liu, Huiling & Zhang, Jianhua & Lei, Heng, 2022. "Do imported environmental goods reduce pollution intensity? The end use matters," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    41. Yu, Yuyuan & Qayyum, Muhammad & Li, Shijie, 2024. "Trade dynamics of environmental goods within global energy economy and their impacts on green technological innovation: A complex network analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    42. Dong, Kangyin & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Zhao, Jun, 2022. "How inclusive financial development eradicates energy poverty in China? The role of technological innovation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    43. Islam, Md. Monirul & Sohag, Kazi & Hammoudeh, Shawkat & Mariev, Oleg & Samargandi, Nahla, 2022. "Minerals import demands and clean energy transitions: A disaggregated analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    44. Lester C. Hunt & Paraskevas Kipouros & Zafeirios Lamprakis, 2024. "The Drivers of Renewable Energy: A Global Empirical Analysis of Developed and Developing Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-19, June.
    45. Noumba, Issidor & Nguea, Stéphane Mbiankeu, 2023. "Assessing the role of globalization for universal electricity access," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 180-195.
    46. Zahonogo, Windbeneti Arnaud, 2025. "Do tariff reductions alleviate energy poverty? Evidence for Sub-Saharan African countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    47. Roger Koenker & Kevin F. Hallock, 2001. "Quantile Regression," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 143-156, Fall.
    48. Irene Henriques & Perry Sadorsky, 1996. "Export-Led Growth or Growth-Driven Exports? The Canadian Case," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 29(3), pages 540-555, August.
    49. Rahman, Mohammad Mafizur, 2021. "The dynamic nexus of energy consumption, international trade and economic growth in BRICS and ASEAN countries: A panel causality test," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Onatunji, Olufemi Gbenga, 2024. "Towards achieving inclusive energy in SSA: The role of financial inclusion and governance quality," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    2. Jahanger, Atif & Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Awan, Ashar & Adebayo, Tomiwa Sunday, 2024. "Uplifting India from severe energy poverty accounting for strong asymmetries: Do inclusive financial development, digitization and human capital help reduce the asymmetry?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    3. Gakuru, Elias & Yang, Shaohua & Namahoro, J.P. & Nie, Peng & Bunje, Madinatou Yeh & Aslam, Naveed, 2024. "Energy-focused green climate policies and trade nexus:Do heterogeneous effects on clean energy poverty matter?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    4. Xu, Xiao-Yu & Peng, Jia-Hui & Wang, Ke-Liang & Zhang, Zhen-Hua, 2025. "Is energy aid a panacea for energy poverty? Evidence from developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    5. Chen, Huangxin & Zhao, Xin & Smutka, Luboš & Henry, James Tumba & Barut, Abdulkadir & Shahzad, U., 2025. "Exploring the impact of China's low carbon energy technology trade on alleviating energy poverty in Belt and Road Initiative countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    6. Ren, Yi-Shuai & Kuang, Xianhua & Klein, Tony, 2024. "Does the urban–rural income gap matter for rural energy poverty?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    7. Avom, Désiré & Ngounou, Borice Augustin, 2025. "Bright cities and intelligences: Can access to ICTs sustainably reduce energy poverty in Africa?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    8. Ma, Juan & Njangang, Henri, 2025. "The effect of gender inequality in internet access on energy poverty: A preliminary investigation in developing countries," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(6).
    9. Wang, Zhiyang & Wen, Shuyang & Zhang, Wei & Zou, Yao, 2025. "Financial inclusion, mental health, and energy poverty: Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    10. Struga, Meivis & Polinesi, Gloria & Rossi, Mosè & Carfora, Alfonso & Comodi, Gabriele & Marko, Oltion, 2025. "Measuring energy poverty in rural Albania: A multidimensional and context-sensitive approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    11. Wang, Yanyan & Chu, Fuling, 2025. "How does artificial intelligence impact household energy poverty? Empirical evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    12. Said, Rabie & Acheampong, Alex O., 2023. "Financial inclusion and energy poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    13. Du, Zhaoyi & Njangang, Henri & Kim, Youngchul, 2025. "Beyond the target: How do monetary policies affect energy poverty?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    14. Junpeng Li & Wanglin Ma, 2025. "Alleviating Multidimensional Energy Poverty and Energy Unaffordability in Rural Areas: The Role of Renting-Out Land," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 178(1), pages 465-497, May.
    15. Liang, Yinhe & Liu, Xi & Yu, Sitian, 2025. "Education and energy poverty: Evidence from China's compulsory education law," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    16. Li, Jiajia & Li, Houjian, 2022. "Spiritual support or living support: Which alleviates solid fuel use for rural households in ethnical minority regions of China?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 479-491.
    17. Moteng, Ghislain & Raghutla, Chandrashekar & Njangang, Henri & Nembot, Luc Ndeffo, 2023. "International sanctions and energy poverty in target developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    18. Salman, Muhammad & Wang, Guimei, 2024. "Rural energy poverty alleviation in OECD nations: An integrated analysis of renewable energy, green taxation, and the United Nations agenda 2030," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(PD).
    19. Donou-Adonsou, Ficawoyi & Basnet, Hem & Mathey, Samuel, 2025. "Energy poverty and financial development: Evidence from developing countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    20. Rashid Latief & Sohail Ahmad Javeed & Sumaira Ashraf, 2025. "The pathway to sustainable development: The roles of financial development, technological innovation, and educational development in energy poverty alleviation," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 2759-2779, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • F18 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Environment
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • E20 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:87:y:2025:i:c:p:2103-2125. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.