The relationship between nuclear energy consumption and economic growth: evidence from Switzerland

Cosimo Magazzino (1) , Marco Mele (2) , Nicolas Schneider , Guillaume Vallet (3)

1 ROMA TRE - Università degli Studi Roma Tre = Roma Tre University
2 UniTE - Università degli Studi di Teramo
3 CREG - Centre de recherche en économie de Grenoble

This study aims to investigate the relationship between nuclear energy consumption and economicgrowth in Switzerland over the period 1970–2018. We use data on capital, labour, and exportswithin a multivariate framework. Starting from the consideration that Switzerland has decided tophase out nuclear energy by 2034, we examine the effect of this structural economic-energy changein the country. To do so, two distinct estimation tools are performed. The first model, using atime-series approach, analyze the relationship between bivariate and multivariate causality. Thesecond, using a Machine Learning methodology, test the results of the econometric modellingthrough an Artificial Neural Networks process. This last empirical procedure represents ouroriginal contribution with respect to the previous energy-GDP papers. The results, in thelogarithmic propagation of neural networks, suggest a careful analysis of the process that will leadto the abandonment of nuclear energy in Switzerland to avoid adverse effects on economic growth.

Mots clés: nuclear energy consumption; GDP; employment; capital stock; time-series; artificial neural networks

Domaines: Economies et finances

Cosimo Magazzino, Marco Mele, Nicolas Schneider, Guillaume Vallet. The relationship between nuclear energy consumption and economic growth: evidence from Switzerland. Environmental Research Letters, 2020, 15 (9), 10 p. ⟨10.1088/1748-9326/abadcd⟩. ⟨halshs-02951860⟩