The renewable and nuclear energy-economic growth nexus in the context of quality of governance.

In the context of recent debates concerning the role of nuclear energy in sustainable development, this paper provides new insights regarding the nuclear and renewable energy-economic growth nexus by considering the role of the quality of governance. The analysis focusing on ten nuclear energy consuming countries from the European Union in the period 2002–2021 revealed few results to support next energy policies. The feedback hypothesis is checked for nuclear energy, while growth hypothesis is validated for renewable energy consumption. The positive impact of renewable energy consumption on growth becomes significant when the analysis is conducted in the period 2010–2021 when nuclear energy consumption has a low and negative effect on economic growth. Control of corruption and rule of law play a central role in supporting renewable energy consumption, while an efficient political framework might make the nuclear energy effective in terms of growth. • Feedback hypothesis is supported for nuclear energy consumption. • Growth hypothesis is validated for renewable energy consumption. • Control of corruption and rule of law enhance the renewable energy use. • Positive contribution of renewable energy to growth only in the short-run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]