IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i19p8291-d1484367.html

The Paradox of Progress towards SDG7: Governance Quality and Energy Poverty Dynamics in Pakistan

Author

Listed:
  • Rongbing Liu

    (School of Finance & Trade, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China)

  • Afifa Qadeer

    (School of Finance & Trade, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China)

  • Junqi Liu

    (School of Finance & Trade, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China)

  • Suleman Sarwar

    (Department of Finance and Economics, College of Business, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 23218, Saudi Arabia)

  • Muhammad Wasim Hussan

    (School of Finance & Trade, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China)

Abstract

This study investigates the multidimensional aspects of energy poverty in Pakistan from 2000 to 2022, specifically evaluating the direct, indirect, and total effects of socioeconomic and environmental factors. We employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the impacts of income, population, governance quality, energy intensity, fuel prices, and renewable energy consumption on energy poverty. The study further contributes by examining the mediating role of governance quality and developing the World Governance Indicators (WGI) Index. The findings indicate significant negative effects of energy intensity and renewable energy consumption on energy poverty. Conversely, population growth and income levels demonstrate positive effects, contradicting conventional economic development and energy access assumptions. Governance quality establishes direct and indirect effects that mediate most relationships between independent variables and energy poverty. Bootstrapping analysis confirms the significance of governance quality as a mediator. The model describes significant energy poverty variance with robust predictive relevance. This study emphasizes the need to adopt a comprehensive strategy to decrease Pakistan’s energy poverty by articulating socioeconomic, environmental, and governance factors. Our findings offer valuable information for policymakers to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 7, embarking on governance reforms, promoting sustainable growth, and enforcing investments in energy efficiency and renewable sources as Pakistan approaches the 2030 SDG 7 deadline.

Suggested Citation

  • Rongbing Liu & Afifa Qadeer & Junqi Liu & Suleman Sarwar & Muhammad Wasim Hussan, 2024. "The Paradox of Progress towards SDG7: Governance Quality and Energy Poverty Dynamics in Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-27, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:19:p:8291-:d:1484367
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/19/8291/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/19/8291/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Igawa, Moegi & Managi, Shunsuke, 2022. "Energy poverty and income inequality: An economic analysis of 37 countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PB).
    2. Du, Juntao & Shen, Zhiyang & Song, Malin & Vardanyan, Michael, 2023. "The role of green financing in facilitating renewable energy transition in China: Perspectives from energy governance, environmental regulation, and market reforms," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    3. Michela Nardo & Michaela Saisana & Andrea Saltelli & Stefano Tarantola & Anders Hoffmann & Enrico Giovannini, 2005. "Handbook on Constructing Composite Indicators: Methodology and User Guide," OECD Statistics Working Papers 2005/3, OECD Publishing.
    4. 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.
    5. Madurai Elavarasan, Rajvikram & Nadarajah, Mithulananthan & Pugazhendhi, Rishi & Sinha, Avik & Gangatharan, Sivasankar & Chiaramonti, David & Abou Houran, Mohamad, 2023. "The untold subtlety of energy consumption and its influence on policy drive towards Sustainable Development Goal 7," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    6. Zhao, Jun & Dong, Kangyin & Dong, Xiucheng & Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2022. "How renewable energy alleviate energy poverty? A global analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 299-311.
    7. Ogwumike, Fidelis O. & Ozughalu, Uche M., 2016. "Analysis of energy poverty and its implications for sustainable development in Nigeria," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(3), pages 273-290, June.
    8. Muhammad Sharif & Farzana Naheed Khan, 2023. "Unveiling the Implications of Energy Poverty for Educational Attainments in Pakistan: A Multidimensional Analysis," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(5), pages 472-483, September.
    9. Blessings Masuku, 2024. "Rethinking South Africa’s household energy poverty through the lens of off-grid energy transition," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(3), pages 467-489, May.
    10. Phoumin, Han & Kimura, Fukunari, 2019. "The impacts of energy insecurity on household welfare in Cambodia: Empirical evidence and policy implications," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 35-41.
    11. Nguyen, Canh Phuc & Su, Thanh Dinh, 2022. "The influences of government spending on energy poverty: Evidence from developing countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PA).
    12. Orsetta Causa & Emilia Soldani & Nhung Luu, 2023. "A cost-of-living squeeze? Distributional implications of rising inflation," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 47(4), pages 431-460.
    13. Perera, A.T.D. & Javanroodi, Kavan & Nik, Vahid M., 2021. "Climate resilient interconnected infrastructure: Co-optimization of energy systems and urban morphology," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    14. Mohammad Salam Ibrahim AlShiab & Husam-Aldin N. Al-Malkawi & Abdelmounaim Lahrech, 2020. "Revisiting the Relationship between Governance Quality and Economic Growth," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(4), pages 54-63.
    15. Jan, Muhammad Zain & Ullah, Kafait & Abbas, Faisal & Khalid, Hassan Abdullah & Bajwa, Tariq M., 2023. "Barriers to the adoption of social welfare measures in the electricity tariff structure of developing countries: A case of Pakistan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    16. Abre-Rehmat Qurat-ul-Ann & Faisal Mehmood Mirza, 2021. "Multidimensional Energy Poverty in Pakistan: Empirical Evidence from Household Level Micro Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 211-258, May.
    17. Mahalik, Mantu Kumar & Mallick, Hrushikesh & Padhan, Hemachandra, 2021. "Do educational levels influence the environmental quality? The role of renewable and non-renewable energy demand in selected BRICS countries with a new policy perspective," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 419-432.
    18. A. Stewart Fotheringham & Taylor M. Oshan, 2016. "Geographically weighted regression and multicollinearity: dispelling the myth," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 303-329, October.
    19. Jushan Bai & Serena Ng, 2002. "Determining the Number of Factors in Approximate Factor Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 70(1), pages 191-221, January.
    20. Salman, Muhammad & Zha, Donglan & Wang, Guimei, 2022. "Assessment of energy poverty convergence: A global analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    21. Shonali Pachauri & Miguel Poblete-Cazenave & Arda Aktas & Matthew J. Gidden, 2021. "Access to clean cooking services in energy and emission scenarios after COVID-19," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 6(11), pages 1067-1076, November.
    22. Acheampong, Alex O. & Erdiaw-Kwasie, Michael Odei & Abunyewah, Matthew, 2021. "Does energy accessibility improve human development? Evidence from energy-poor regions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    23. Heltberg, Rasmus, 2004. "Fuel switching: evidence from eight developing countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 869-887, September.
    24. Karli Manko & Todd A. Watkins, 2022. "Microfinance and SDG 7: financial impact channels for mitigating energy poverty," Development in Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(8), pages 1036-1048, November.
    25. Sinha, Avik & Bekiros, Stelios & Hussain, Nazim & Nguyen, Duc Khuong & Khan, Sana Akbar, 2023. "How social imbalance and governance quality shape policy directives for energy transition in the OECD countries?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    26. Siyou Xia & Yu Yang & Xiaoying Qian & Xin Xu, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Interaction and Socioeconomic Determinants of Rural Energy Poverty in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-15, August.
    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. Liang, Yinhe & Liu, Xi & Yu, Sitian, 2025. "Education and energy poverty: Evidence from China's compulsory education law," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    2. Zahonogo, Windbeneti Arnaud, 2025. "Do tariff reductions alleviate energy poverty? Evidence for Sub-Saharan African countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    3. Kocak, Emrah & Ulug, Eyup Emre & Oralhan, Burcu, 2023. "The impact of electricity from renewable and non-renewable sources on energy poverty and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs): Empirical evidence and policy implications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    4. Gawusu, Sidique, 2024. "Evolving energy landscapes: A computational analysis of the determinants of energy poverty," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    5. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Song, Hepeng & An, Jiafu, 2024. "The impact of green finance on energy transition: Does climate risk matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    6. Wang, Yanyan & Chu, Fuling, 2025. "How does artificial intelligence impact household energy poverty? Empirical evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    7. 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).
    8. Zhao, Jun & Dong, Kangyin & Dong, Xiucheng, 2024. "How does energy poverty eradication affect global carbon neutrality?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    9. Arkadiusz Piwowar, 2022. "Energy Poverty as a Current Problem in the Light of Economic and Social Challenges," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-9, November.
    10. Ndayambaje, Jean de Dieu & Yang, Ling & Samuel, Adegboyo Olufemi & Gakuru, Elias, 2025. "The role of climate policies in alleviating global energy poverty. Evidence from system GMM analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 330(C).
    11. Karmaker, Shamal Chandra & Rjbongshi, Ajoy & Pal, Bikash & Sen, Kanchan Kumar & Chapman, Andrew J., 2025. "Machine learning-based prediction of energy poverty in Bangladesh: Unveiling key socioeconomic drivers for targeted policy actions," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    12. Ding, Tao & Li, Hao & Liu, Li & Feng, Kui, 2024. "An inquiry into the nexus between artificial intelligence and energy poverty in the light of global evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    13. Gawusu, Sidique & Ahmed, Abubakari, 2024. "Analyzing variability in urban energy poverty: A stochastic modeling and Monte Carlo simulation approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    14. Zhao, Weiping & Sun, Xiaomei & Jiang, Dayang, 2023. "Role of financial inclusion and green resources for alleviating energy poverty in the Republic of Korea," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    15. Marcela Taušová & Lucia Domaracká & Katarína Čulková & Peter Tauš & Pavol Kaňuch, 2024. "Development of Energy Poverty and Its Solutions through the Use of Renewables: The EU Case with a Focus on Slovakia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-14, July.
    16. Siyou Xia & Yu Yang & Xiaoying Qian & Xin Xu, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Interaction and Socioeconomic Determinants of Rural Energy Poverty in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-15, August.
    17. Aladejare, Samson Adeniyi, 2025. "The role of natural resource wealth and national-level economic forces in energy poverty intensity in African economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    18. Yue, Jia & Chen, Siyao & Weng, Zhixiong & Xie, Yang & Xu, Meng, 2025. "Heterogeneous characteristics of household energy poverty and sustainable development: Perspective from the household life cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    19. Du, Zhaoyi & Njangang, Henri & Kim, Youngchul, 2025. "Beyond the target: How do monetary policies affect energy poverty?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    20. Klege, Rebecca A. & Amuakwa-Mensah, Franklin & Visser, Martine, 2022. "Tenancy and energy choices in Rwanda. A replication and extension study," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    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:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:19:p:8291-:d:1484367. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.