Women Labor Participation, Urbanization, and Energy Intensity in Saudi Arabia: Asymmetrical Analysis

Women's Labor Participation (WLP) and urbanization are rising in Saudi Arabia nowadays, which can shape the Energy Intensity (EI) as well. Thus, this research examines the effects of WLP and urbanization on EI in the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework in Saudi Arabia by using the period 1990-2023. The long-run results validate the EKC with coefficients of 29.8311 and -1.4769 for income per capita and its square term, respectively. Moreover, a 1% increase in urbanization raises EI by 0.6097%. WLP has a positive asymmetrical effect on EI in the long run. A 1% rise in WLP increases EI by 0.1682%, and a 1% fall in WLP decreases EI by 0.3127%. Thus, the magnitude of the effect of falling WLP is found to be significantly higher than rising WLP, which validates the asymmetrical effects of WLP on EI. These asymmetrical effects are further validated with a high Wald test value of 541.3240. The same effects of urbanization and WLP on EI are also observed in the short run. However, the EKC is not substantiated in the short run. Moreover, the lag effect of EI on the current EI is found to be positive. The findings suggest controlling WLP and urbanization to reduce EI in Saudi Arabia.