Energy Consumption-Youth Unemployment Nexus in Europe: Evidence from Panel Cointegration and Panel Causality Analyses

This paper employs a panel data set of 20 European countries and examines the impacts of energy consumption on youth unemployment over the period 1990-2011. We employed panel FMOLS and panel DOLS estimations, panel Granger causality tests based on vector error correction model and panel causality tests of Emirmahmutoglu and Kose (2011) and Dumitreschu and Hurlin (2012). According to the panel FMOLS and DOLS estimators results, there is negative impact of energy consumption on youth unemployment rates. In addition, the causality tests yield unidirectional causality from energy consumption to youth unemployment rates. The outcome of this paper explores the importance of energy policies to decrease youth unemployment rates and, hence, it may suggests policymakers follow relevant policies encouraging energy consumption and new potential energy investments to diminish youth unemployment rates. Keywords: energy consumption; youth unemployment; panel analysis; EU JEL Classifications: C33, E24, Q4

Unraveling Molecular Fingerprints of Catalytic Sulfur Poisoning at the Nanometer Scale with Near-Field Infrared Spectroscopy

Fundamental understanding of catalytic deactivation phenomena such as sulfur poisoning occurring on metal/metal-oxide interfaces is essential for the development of high-performance heterogeneous catalysts with extended lifetimes. Unambiguous identification of catalytic poisoning species requires experimental methods simultaneously delivering accurate information regarding adsorption sites and adsorption geometries of adsorbates with nanometer-scale spatial resolution, as well as their detailed chemical structure and surface functional groups. However, to date, it has not been possible to study catalytic sulfur poisoning of metal/metal-oxide interfaces at the nanometer scale without sacrificing chemical definition. Here, we demonstrate that near-field nano-infrared spectroscopy can effectively identify the chemical nature, adsorption sites, and adsorption geometries of sulfur-based catalytic poisons on a Pd(nanodisk)/Al2O3 (thin-film) planar model catalyst surface at the nanometer scale. The current results reveal striking variations in the nature of sulfate species from one nanoparticle to another, vast alterations of sulfur poisoning on a single Pd nanoparticle as well as at the assortment of sulfate species at the active metal-metal-oxide support interfacial sites. These findings provide critical molecular-level insights crucial for the development of long-lifetime precious metal catalysts resistant toward deactivation by sulfur

The renewable energy and economic growth nexus in Black Sea and Balkan countries

WOS: 000391903900006The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth within the framework of traditional production function for the period of 1990-2012 in 9 Black Sea and Balkan countries. For this purpose, we use Pedroni (1999, 2004) panel cointegration, Pedroni (2000, 2001) co-integration estimate methods and Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) heterogeneous panel causality estimation techniques. The study has concluded that there is a long term balance relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth and renewable energy consumption has a positive impact on economic growth. Heterogeneous panel causality analysis results support growth hypothesis in Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Russia and Ukraine; feedback hypothesis in Albania, Georgia and Romania; neutrality hypothesis in Turkey and according to the panel data set including all nine countries the results support feedback hypothesis. With the findings, it was concluded that there is a significant impact of renewable energy consumption on economic growth in Balkan and Black Sea Countries

Tourism and Economic Output: Do Asymmetries Matter?

Revisits the tourism and economic growth nexus Employs a nonlinear method that considers asymmetric effects The impact of contraction in tourism on economic output is greater than expansion. Asymmetries matter in the tourism and economic output nexus

Have Financial Stability Concerns Changed the Priority of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey?

This paper aims at analysing whether the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), designing a new monetary policy framework to achieve financial stability in the last quarter of 2010, tries to pursue financial stability by putting price stability on the back burner. To this end, a forward-looking reaction function that is extended with nominal exchange rate gap and nominal domestic credits gap is estimated for the CBRT. The paper first performs unit root and cointegration tests and finds that the variables become stationary at first differences and that there is a cointegration relationship among variables. Then, the paper conducts the Kalman filter to obtain time varying parameters. The findings show that the coefficients of all explanatory variables did not change too much after the new monetary policy framework of the CBRT in the last quarter of 2010. Therefore, this paper asserts that the CBRT continues to pursue price stability as its primary goal and tries to achieve financial stability by using macroprudential tools. Thus this paper concludes that financial stability concerns have not changed the priority of the CBRT

The dynamic impact of renewable energy consumption on CO2 emissions: A revisited Environmental Kuznets Curve approach

WOS: 000367758200061This paper considers a revisited Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis with potential impact of renewable energy consumption on environmental quality. To this end, paper aims at investigating the validity of the EKC hypothesis employing the dependent variable of CO2 emissions and regressors of GDP, quadratic GDP and renewable energy consumption. This paper, hence, analyzes this revisited EKC hypothesis to observe if (i) there exists an inverted-U shaped relationship between environmental quality (in terms of CO2 emissions), per capita income and per capita income squared and (ii) there exists a negative causality from renewables to CO2 emissions within EKC model. Paper employs a panel data set of 17 OECD countries over the period 1977-2010 and launches panel FMOLS and panel DOLS estimations. The findings support the EKC hypothesis for the panel and indicate that GDP per capita and GDP per capita squared have the impacts on CO2 emissions positively and negatively, respectively, and that renewable energy consumption yields negative impact on CO2 emissions. Another remark of this paper is that the validity of EKC does not depend on income level of individual countries of panel in which EKC hypothesis holds. Eventually, paper argues that if countries carry out (i) policies, i.e., for fair and easy access to the electricity from renewable sources and (ii) policies to increase renewables supply through i.e. improved renewable energy technologies, they will be able to contribute to combating global warming problem as they increase their GDP's. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

HAVE FINANCIAL STABILITY CONCERNS CHANGED THE PRIORITY OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY?

WOS: 000449889300004This paper aims at analysing whether the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), designing a new monetary policy framework to achieve financial stability in the last quarter of 2010, tries to pursue financial stability by putting price stability on the back burner. To this end, a forward-looking reaction function that is extended with nominal exchange rate gap and nominal domestic credits gap is estimated for the CBRT. The paper first performs unit root and cointegration tests and finds that the variables become stationary at first differences and that there is a cointegration relationship among variables. Then, the paper conducts the Kalman filter to obtain time varying parameters. The findings show that the coefficients of all explanatory variables did not change too much after the new monetary policy framework of the CBRT in the last quarter of 2010. Therefore, this paper asserts that the CBRT continues to pursue price stability as its primary goal and tries to achieve financial stability by using macroprudential tools. Thus this paper concludes that financial stability concerns have not changed the priority of the CBRT

The impact of urbanization on energy intensity: Panel data evidence considering cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity

WOS: 000407655700023As population grows considerably in the world, the correlation between intensity of population in urban areas and energy intensity becomes an important issue in energy field. This paper aims at examining the effects of urbanization on energy intensity for 10 Asian countries by employing annual data from 1990 to 2014. The Asian countries are Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, respectively. To this end, the paper, first, follows cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity tests. Then, the paper conducts unit root and cointegration tests, cointegration analyses and causality analyses. Finally, the paper estimates the short run parameters as well as long-run parameters to capture the possible dynamic relationships among variables. This paper, thus, employs energy intensity as dependent variable and GDP per capita, the square of GDP per capita, urbanization, and ruralization as regressors within the relevant models and explores that there exists a long-run relationship of energy intensity with GDP per capita, the square of GDP per capita, urbanization, and ruralization in panel data. The paper, later, observes additional explanatory variables of export, renewable energy consumption and nonrenewable energy consumption, and, concludes that (i) the urbanization variable has significant influences on energy intensity in the short-run and long-run, (ii) despite the some differences in cross-sectional estimations, the Asian panel data, overall; yield negative impact of urbanization on energy intensity. The latter output indicates that the urbanization path increases the energy productivity in Asian panel models. Within this scope, the paper presents some policy proposals related to the reduction of energy intensity in Asia. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Can biomass energy be an efficient policy tool for sustainable development?

WOS: 000394920600065This paper first reviews the potential causality from biomass energy to CO2 emissions and economic development within relevant literature. Later, the paper examines statistically the impacts of biomass energy consumption on CO2 emissions and GDP in the US. To this end, paper observes environmental and economic implications of biomass fuel usage throughout energy literature and launches asymmetric causality test to confirm/disconfirm the literature output. The findings of the tests indicate that biomass energy consumption per capita mitigates CO2 emissions per capita and increases GDP per capita. Eventually, upon its output, this research asserts that biomass energy consumption can be an efficient policy tool for environmentally sustainable development in the US, and, that, hence, biomass production technologies and biomass consumption need to be promoted in other countries as well as in the US. On the other hand, analyses underline the fact that policy makers should consider as well some potential constraints of biomass energy usage such as land use constraints and carbon leakage from biomass production. Therefore, although this paper explores the remedial impact of biomass on environment and growth, one may suggest also that further possible works consider the effects of biomass sources in detail to minimize the some worsening influence of biomass usage on climate change

Use of information and communication technologies by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in building construction

Scholars usually agree that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) active in construction are not very innovative when compared with large-size construction enterprises. This is particularly evident in the case of adoption and diffusion of innovation associated with information and communication technologies (ICTs). Although ICTs are powerful instruments for the rapid and broader diffusion of technical knowledge, few SMEs are fully able to exploit their benefits. There is little evidence of how SMEs perceive ICTs and of the extent to which these technologies are actually used in the construction industry. There is a relationship between organizational size and the use of ICTs within the SMEs in the building construction sector in Turkey. A set of ICT variables comprising the perception, investment, usage and the software preferences of SMEs were analysed by making use of the data collected in a survey of a randomly selected sample of 227 building construction firms in Turkey. In contrast to the common approaches that consider SMEs as part of a homogeneous set of firms with similar characteristics, this study seeks the differences in ICT-related attitudes between SMEs of different sizes. Rather than using arbitrarily pre-defined intervals to classify firms by size, cluster analysis was used in this study. Although what emerges as a whole is the common under-utilization of ICTs by SMEs in building construction, 'organizational size' appears to explain some of the ICT-related attitude differences within these SMEs. Policy makers can consider using the findings of this study as inputs in their activities, as these findings represent a generic overview of the diffusion of new technologies and can assist in identifying future research directions.Information and communication technology, organizational size, small firms, Turkish building construction industry,