Chang, TsangyaoGupta, RanganInglesi-Lotz, RoulaSimo-Kengne, Beatrice DesireeSmithers, DevonTrembling, Amy2015-09-162015-09-162015-12Chang, T, Gupta, R, Inglesi-Lotz, R, Simo-Kengne, BD, Smithers, D & Trembling, A 2015, 'Renewable energy and growth : evidence from heterogeneous panel of G7 countries using Granger causality', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 52, pp. 1405-1412.1364-0321 (print)1879-0690 (online)10.1016/j.rser.2015.08.022http://hdl.handle.net/2263/49952In this paper we examine the causal relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth across the G7 countries, using annual data for the period of 1990 to 2011. By employing the causality methodology proposed by Emirmahmutoglu and Kose (2011), we investigate if there is a causal relationship between the variables. The advantage of this methodology is that it takes into account possible slope heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependency in a multivariate panel. The empirical results support the existence of a bidirectional causal relationship between economic growth and renewable energy for the overall panel. However, looking at the individual results for each country, the neutrality hypothesis is confirmed for Canada, Italy and the US; while for France and UK there is a unidirectional causality from GDP to renewable energy, and the opposite for Germany and Japan.en© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 52, pp. 1405-1412, 2015. doi : 10.1016/j.rser.2015.08.022.Renewable energyEconomic growthG7 countriesPanel causalityPostprint Article