Is Energy a Requirement for, or a Consequence of Economic Growth in Mauritius?

Abstract The non-reproducible nature of energy, coupled to its essentiality either as a direct or an intermediary input, makes it a crucial factor of production. We posit that it is, a complement to capital and labor and should be included in growth production models. Mauritius is a net energy importer, hence information about the nexus between energy consumption and economic growth is central to policy-making. This paper attempts to analyze this relationship for Mauritius within a multivariate framework over the period 1961 to 2019. The work adopts a dynamic time series framework (VECM approach) to account for dynamism, causality, endogeneity and omitted variables. Empirical results reveal long-run and short-run elasticities of energy consumption on economics growth of 0.33 and 0.17 respectively, thus giving credence to the thesis that energy is an important growth determinant in Mauritius. We also uncovered bi-directional causality between energy consumption and economic growth in both the long-run and the short-run. Therefore, unexpected and/ or voluntary contraction in either economic growth or energy consumption could result in a ‘feedback effect’ and dent either.JEL: Q4, O1