Non-fossil fuel energy usage and economic growth in India: a study on non-linear cointegration, asymmetry and causality

Abstract This study evaluates the potential impact of promoting non-fossil fuel energy on India’s economic growth in a regime based non-linear asymmetric framework. The empirical outcomes affirm regime-shift and asymmetric cointegrating links of the non-fossil fuel energy usage represented by combustible renewables & waste (CREW) and alternative & nuclear energy (ANEN) with the gross domestic product (GDP). The study establishes the existence of threshold cointegration between CREW and GDP. The causal links between CREW and GDP are regime variant and asymmetric, whereas the dynamics between ANEN and GDP are proven to be asymmetric and regime invariant. CREW and GDP supports a feedback hypothesis in a normal regime and a conservation hypothesis in a rare regime. The asymmetric causality between CREW and GDP validates an inverse feedback hypothesis and a negative growth hypothesis. A negative growth hypothesis is also ascertained between ANEN and GDP. The empirical findings convey meaningful insights for government and policymakers.