IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v74y2025ics0275531924004598.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy transition, institutional quality, and financial development in Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Ben Cheikh, Nidhaleddine
  • Ben Zaied, Younes
  • Mahmoud, Faisal

Abstract

This study examines the influence of institutional quality and financial sector size on driving renewable energy (RE) development using a sample of 31 African countries. We first employ a nonparametric trending panel data model that allows us to capture the gradual process of RE transition. The estimated common trend function reveals a steady increase in the share of RE from 2002 to 2019. Although fossil fuels dominate the energy structure in some African countries, a shift toward low-carbon sources is emerging, becoming increasingly significant in the energy mix. In the next step, we apply recent panel quantile regression techniques to model the heterogeneous and asymmetric relationships between RE and its main determinants. We find that institutional quality has a prominent influence on advancing the low-carbon transition, with significant positive effects across almost all conditional quantiles of the RE distribution. However, financial sector size seems to be important only for countries with a lower share of RE. Our results also confirm the asymmetric impact of income growth, which is negative in the lower quantiles but positive in the upper tail of the conditional distribution. From a policy perspective, governance factors, including the quality of policy formulation and implementation, have a critical role in promoting clean energy initiatives in Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Ben Cheikh, Nidhaleddine & Ben Zaied, Younes & Mahmoud, Faisal, 2025. "Energy transition, institutional quality, and financial development in Africa," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:74:y:2025:i:c:s0275531924004598
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102666
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531924004598
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102666?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. Helmut Herwartz & Simone Maxand & Yabibal M. Walle, 2019. "Heteroskedasticity‐Robust Unit Root Testing for Trending Panels," Journal of Time Series Analysis, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(5), pages 649-664, September.
    2. Shettima, Abdulkadir & Elheddad, Mohammed & Bassim, Mohga & Alfar, Abdelrahman J.K., 2023. "The impact of conflict on energy poverty: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PA).
    3. Mohsin, Muhammad & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2022. "Nexus between financial development and energy poverty in Latin America," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    4. Ofori, Elvis K. & Bekun, Festus V. & Gyamfi, Bright Akwasi & Ali, Ernest B. & Onifade, Stephen T. & Asongu, Simplice A., 2024. "Prospect of trade and innovation in renewable energy deployment: A comparative analysis between BRICS and MINT Countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    5. Ben Cheikh, Nidhaleddine & Rault, Christophe, 2024. "Financial inclusion and threshold effects in carbon emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    6. Acheampong, Alex O. & Opoku, Eric Evans Osei & Dogah, Kingsley E., 2023. "The political economy of energy transition: The role of globalization and governance in the adoption of clean cooking fuels and technologies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PB).
    7. Ben Cheikh, Nidhaleddine & Ben Zaied, Younes, 2024. "Understanding the drivers of the renewable energy transition," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 604-612.
    8. Machado, José A.F. & Santos Silva, J.M.C., 2019. "Quantiles via moments," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 213(1), pages 145-173.
    9. Ivan A. Canay, 2011. "A simple approach to quantile regression for panel data," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 14(3), pages 368-386, October.
    10. Degui Li & Jia Chen & Jiti Gao, 2011. "Non‐parametric time‐varying coefficient panel data models with fixed effects," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 14(3), pages 387-408, October.
    11. Karavias, Yiannis & Tzavalis, Elias, 2014. "Testing for unit roots in short panels allowing for a structural break," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 391-407.
    12. Koenker, Roger, 2004. "Quantile regression for longitudinal data," Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 74-89, October.
    13. David Powell, 2022. "Quantile regression with nonadditive fixed effects," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(5), pages 2675-2691, November.
    14. Said, Rabie & Acheampong, Alex O., 2023. "Financial inclusion and energy poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    15. Hasan, Mohammad Maruf & Nan, Su & Waris, Umra, 2024. "Assessing the dynamics among oil consumption, ecological footprint, and renewable energy: Role of institutional quality in major oil-consuming countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    16. Ben Cheikh, Nidhaleddine & Ben Zaied, Younes, 2024. "Does geopolitical uncertainty matter for the diffusion of clean energy?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    17. Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Dash, Devi Prasad & Das, Narasingha & Ullah, Ehsan & Hossain, Md. Emran, 2024. "Green energy transition in OECD region through the lens of economic complexity and environmental technology: A method of moments quantile regression perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 365(C).
    18. Sun, Yunpeng & Bao, Qun & Siao-Yun, Wei & Islam, Misbah ul & Razzaq, Asif, 2022. "Renewable energy transition and environmental sustainability through economic complexity in BRICS countries: Fresh insights from novel Method of Moments Quantile regression," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1165-1176.
    19. repec:erg:wpaper:1713 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Horky, Florian & Fidrmuc, Jarko, 2024. "Financial development and renewable energy adoption in EU and ASEAN countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    21. Nguyen, Canh Phuc & Nasir, Muhammad Ali, 2021. "An inquiry into the nexus between energy poverty and income inequality in the light of global evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    22. Awan, Ashar & Abbasi, Kashif Raza & Rej, Soumen & Bandyopadhyay, Arunava & Lv, Kangjuan, 2022. "The impact of renewable energy, internet use and foreign direct investment on carbon dioxide emissions: A method of moments quantile analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 454-466.
    23. Ben Cheikh, Nidhaleddine & Ben Zaied, Younes & Nguyen, Duc Khuong, 2023. "Understanding energy poverty drivers in Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(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. Bilgili, Faik & Soykan, Erkan & Dumrul, Cüneyt & Awan, Ashar & Önderol, Seyit & Khan, Kamran, 2023. "Disaggregating the impact of natural resource rents on environmental sustainability in the MENA region: A quantile regression analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    2. Ben Cheikh, Nidhaleddine & Rault, Christophe, 2024. "Financial inclusion and threshold effects in carbon emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    3. Tooba Pervaiz Banday & Ekrem Erdem, 2024. "ICT and declining labor productivity in OECD," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 1-19, March.
    4. Bampinas, Georgios & Mavropoulos, Georgios, 2024. "Asymmetric effects between economic development and fertility: What do 140 years of data tell us?," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).
    5. Sun, Yunpeng & Li, Tonxin & Mehmood, Usman, 2025. "Balancing acts: Assessing the roles of renewable energy, economic complexity, Fintech, green finance, green growth, and economic performance in G-20 countries amidst sustainability efforts," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 378(PA).
    6. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Nwani, Chinazaekpere & Bekun, Festus Victor & Gyamfi, Bright Akwasi & Agozie, Divine Q., 2022. "Discerning the role of renewable energy and energy efficiency in finding the path to cleaner consumption and production patterns: New insights from developing economies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    7. Muhammad Awais Baloch & Yiting Qiu & Zilu Guo, 2024. "Empowering sustainability practices through energy transition: The role of digital economy and technological innovation among BRICS economies," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 283-301, June.
    8. Atif Awad, 2024. "Do ICT and economic globalisation offer benefits to all nations? Findings from a moments quantile regression," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 5817-5841, March.
    9. Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Trinh, Hai Hong & Vo, Diem Thi Hong & Sharma, Gagan Deep, 2025. "How do economies decarbonize growth under finance-energy inequality? Global evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    10. Dimitrios Bakas & Theodore Panagiotidis & Gianluigi Pelloni, 2024. "Labour reallocation and unemployment fluctuations: A tale of two tails," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 3444-3468, July.
    11. Fotié, Andrée Kenne & Mbratana, Taoufiki, 2024. "Informality and development: The nonlinear effect," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    12. Chen, Jianxing & Wei, Shiwei & Mei, Chun, 2023. "Do structural transformation and urbanization assist in enhancing sustainable energy technologies innovations? Evidence from ASEAN countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 895-902.
    13. Mohammed Shakib, 2023. "Innovation-Export Diversification Nexus in Russian Regions: Does Trade Globalization, Business Potential and Geopolitics Matter?," Journal of Applied Economic Research, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University, vol. 22(4), pages 932-974.
    14. Kazi Musa & Marijn Janssen & Jamaliah Said & Nor Balkish Zakaria & Naila Erum, 2025. "The Impact of Public Debt and Quality of Governance on Economic Growth in High-Income Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(1), pages 2817-2843, March.
    15. Ibrahim Mohamed Ali Ali & Imed Attiaoui & Rabeh Khalfaoui & Aviral Kumar Tiwari, 2022. "The Effect of Urbanization and Industrialization on Income Inequality: An Analysis Based on the Method of Moments Quantile Regression," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 29-50, May.
    16. Galina Besstremyannaya & Sergei Golovan, 2023. "Measuring heterogeneity in hospital productivity: a quantile regression approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 15-43, February.
    17. Chukwuemeka Chinonso Emenekwe & Robert Ugochukwu Onyeneke & Chinedum Uzoma Nwajiuba & Ifeoma Quinette Anugwa & Obioma Uchenna Emenekwe, 2025. "Determinants of consumption-based and production-based carbon emissions," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(5), pages 10303-10339, May.
    18. Nomusa Yolanda Nkomo & Mduduzi Biyase & Beatrice D. Simo-Kengne, 2023. "The Effects of Inequality on the Substitution of Essential Goods for Tobacco Smoking in South Africa," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-23, May.
    19. Chien, Fengsheng & Anwar, Ahsan & Hsu, Ching-Chi & Sharif, Arshian & Razzaq, Asif & Sinha, Avik, 2021. "The role of information and communication technology in encountering environmental degradation: Proposing an SDG framework for the BRICS countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    20. Sèna Kimm Gnangnon, 2024. "The quality of Aid for Trade flows and economic complexity," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 705-747, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q43 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy and the Macroeconomy

    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:riibaf:v:74:y:2025:i:c:s0275531924004598. 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.elsevier.com/locate/ribaf .

    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.