International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12

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 Volume 12, Issue 8 (August 2025), Pages: 175-190

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 Original Research Paper

Analyzing the interactions between economic growth, renewable energy, and human capital in Saudi Arabia

 Author(s): 

 Salma Mohammed Jaghoubi *, Abdullah Abdulmohsen Alfalih

 Affiliation(s):

 Department of Business Administration, College of Business Administration, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia

 Full text

    Full Text - PDF

 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3081-3267

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2025.08.017

 Abstract

A nation's economic growth is influenced by several factors, such as natural resources, human capital, technology, and social and political conditions. The interactions among these factors are often complex and not well understood. This study examines the relationship between renewable energy, economic growth, and human capital in Saudi Arabia from 1990 to 2019. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and Granger causality tests, the research investigates both short-term and long-term connections among these variables. Energy consumption and foreign direct investment (FDI) are included as control variables. The ARDL bounds test confirms a long-term relationship among renewable energy use, economic growth, and human capital. The results show that human capital and FDI have a negative effect on gross domestic product (GDP), suggesting that GDP growth in Saudi Arabia is not closely linked to FDI inflows. In contrast, economic growth positively affects energy consumption. Granger causality tests reveal a one-way short-term causal relationship from FDI and energy use to GDP, and from the Human Capital Index to energy use. A two-way causal relationship is also found between GDP and the Human Capital Index, indicating mutual influence. This study provides new insights into Saudi Arabia’s economic transition by connecting traditional growth factors with sustainable development. The findings can help guide policy decisions aimed at promoting long-term growth while supporting environmental sustainability.

 © 2025 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

 Renewable energy, Economic growth, Human capital, Foreign investment, Energy consumption

 Article history

 Received 5 February 2025, Received in revised form 18 June 2025, Accepted 28 July 2025

 Acknowledgment

The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research at Majmaah University for funding this research work through project number R-2025-1699. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Jaghoubi SM and Alfalih AA (2025). Analyzing the interactions between economic growth, renewable energy, and human capital in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 12(8): 175-190

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 Figures

  Fig. 1   Fig. 2  Fig. 3  Fig. 4  Fig. 5  Fig. 6

 Tables

  Table 1  Table 2  Table 3  Table 4  Table 5  Table 6  Table 7  Table 8  Table 9  Table 10  Table 11  Table 12  Table 13  Table 14

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