The relationship between energy consumption and economic growth: An empirical study on Southeastern Anatolia

In today's World, importance of energy is undeniable. Eenrgy used as the main input material in the industrial sectors has a very important share in the economic and thus social welfare of the countries. Like many other economies, Turkey has also an energy-intensive economy, therefore, the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth is crucial for its economy and energy policies. In the first chapter of this study, the concept of energy is defined and then the sources of energy are examşned under two groups as renewable and non-renewable sources. Besides, production, consumption and reserves of energy sources in Turkey and the World are evaluated in several subheadings. In the second chapter, the concept of economic growth and its basic determinants are explained and economic growth models in the relevant literature are discussed. In the third chapter, the literature on the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth is discussed and a general evaluation of the chapter is provided. Finally, in the fourth chapter of the study, an econometric analysis on the southeast Anatolia region of turkey is applied and evaluated. In this study, the data for the provinces located in the southeast Anatolia region is used to emprically explain the relationship between energy and economic growth. Specifically, data is used for the time period between 1998 and 2018 and for 10 provinces in this particular area. In the econometric analysis, while several indicators are used to measure economic growth of these provinces, such as GDP per capita, GDP measured as lights on nights, import, export and the volume of foreign trade, only electricity consumption is usedto measure energy consumption of the provinces. Besides, some control variables are also added to the econometric models such as poopulation, investments, agricultural production, education, number of buildings, number of doctors and number of turists. The analyses are applied on a panel data set using fixed effect method. The results of this study indicate that there is a strong positive relationship between economic growth and energy consumption in the southeast region of Anatolia. Keywords: Energy, Economic Growth, Energy Consumption, Southeastern Anatolia