Determinants of renewable energy consumption in Madagascar: Evidence
  from feature selection algorithms
Franck Ramaharo Fitiavana Randriamifidy
The aim of this note is to identify the factors influencing renewable energy
consumption in Madagascar. We tested 12 features covering macroeconomic,
financial, social, and environmental aspects, including economic growth,
domestic investment, foreign direct investment, financial development,
industrial development, inflation, income distribution, trade openness,
exchange rate, tourism development, environmental quality, and urbanization. To
assess their significance, we assumed a linear relationship between renewable
energy consumption and these features over the 1990-2021 period. Next, we
applied different machine learning feature selection algorithms classified as
filter-based (relative importance for linear regression, correlation method),
embedded (LASSO), and wrapper-based (best subset regression, stepwise
regression, recursive feature elimination, iterative predictor weighting
partial least squares, Boruta, simulated annealing, and genetic algorithms)
methods. Our analysis revealed that the five most influential drivers stem from
macroeconomic aspects. We found that domestic investment, foreign direct
investment, and inflation positively contribute to the adoption of renewable
energy sources. On the other hand, industrial development and trade openness
negatively affect renewable energy consumption in Madagascar.