Abstract

This study probes the nexus between electricity consumption and gross domestic product (GDP) for the electricity community of Togo and Benin using ARDL bounds testing approach of cointegration. Long-run equilibrium has been established among these variables for Benin. The study further establishes long and short-run Granger causality running from GDP to electricity consumption for Benin and short-run Granger causality running from GDP to electricity consumption for Togo. The results of the cointegration test and the causality reflect better the Benin and Togo economies that are less dependent on electricity. The absence of causality running from electricity consumption to GDP implies that the very low electricity consumption in both countries do not allow them to take advantage of the benefits that electricity energy brings in terms of adoption of new technology as well as technical efficiency.

Key words: ARDL, cointegration, causality, growth, electricity.