The Effect of Per Capita Consumption of Renewable Energy on Life Expectancy in Iran: Quantile-on-Quantile Regression (QQR) Approach

Current research seeks to investigate the role of per capita consumption of renewable energy, carbon emissions per capita, trade openness, and urbanization growth rate on life expectancy by using quantile-on-quantile regression (QQR) modeling in the annual time frame from 1965 to 2022 for Iran. The results show that the per capita consumption of renewable energy has a positive effect on life expectancy. This positive relationship was stronger in the quantiles (0.6 to 0.95) of per capita consumption of renewable energy and the quantiles (0.7 to 0.95) of life expectancy. Also, carbon emissions per capita hurt life expectancy in some quantiles and have a positive effect in some quantiles, and this negative relationship in quantiles (0.05 to 0.95) of carbon emissions per capita and quantiles (0.6 to 0.95) life expectancy has been stronger. Also, trade openness and urbanization growth rate have positively affected life expectancy. Thus, the findings of this research show that governments should identify their potential in renewable energy sources and design policies such as tax regulations or relevant incentives to encourage investment, consumption, and production of renewable energy, which can help achieve the goal of sustainable development and life expectancy.