Causal Nexus between Billing Efficiency and Economic Growth in India: An Analysis Using Vector Autoregression

Energy being a major factor of production plays a pivotal role in inducing a sustained and high economic growth of an economy. This paper attempts to examine the Vector Autoregression (VAR) based Granger causality between billing efficiency and growth rate of per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India using annual time series data for the period 1970-71 to 2014-15. The conventional Augmented Dicky-Fuller and Phillips-Perron tests reveal that both the series are non-stationary and individually integrated of order one. Johansen-Juselius cointegration approach finds no evidence on the long-run equilibrium association between these variables. However, the VAR - based Granger causality approach reveals unidirectional causality running from billing efficiency to economic growth without any feedback effect. As regards policy implication, implementation of both the short term and long term measures in improving billing efficiency, through the enhancement of commercial and operational efficiency in electricity distribution sector will undoubtedly aid in achieving sustained and high economic growth in India.