The Long‐run Effects of Political Regimes and Economic Openness on Energy Intensity.

This study investigates the effects of trade openness and political regimes on energy intensity, using the case of Ghana in sub‐Saharan Africa. The study adopts the Stock–Watson dynamic OLS to deal with the problems of endogeneity and serial correlation. The findings reveal that while openness reduces energy intensity, democracy increases it. The latter result can be attributed to the existence of pressure interest groups, rent‐seeking behaviour, high corruption, regulatory failures and the lack of coordination that characterize Ghana's democratic governance. Further results reveal a significant role for the price of energy in terms of reducing energy intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]