The impact of renewable energy, carbon emissions, and fossil fuels on health outcomes: a study of West African countries
Shailender Singh, Meenakshi Kaul, Saurabh Chandra, Chandrashekhar J Rawandale
Abstract
This study analyses the panel data for the 19 countries of West Africa and employed the Grossman health production function, which is estimated using the regression model with Driscoll Kraay standard error and the robustness of the result is evaluated using Common Correlated Mean Group estimator. Current health expenditure, per capita income, and C02 emissions are significantly associated with an improvement in life expectancy and a reduction in under-5 mortality. Per capita income and fossil fuel are associated with significant reductions in mortality from chronic conditions. However, while fossil fuel is significantly associated with a reduced life span, there is no significant evidence that renewable energy improves life expectancy. Moreover, renewable energy and fossil fuels are not associated with a significant reduction in under-5 mortality. Finally, though insignificant, renewable energy and public expenditure on education are associated with mortality reductions for people with chronic conditions.