Digital government, political stability, and nuclear energy investment: The role of the Paris agreement

The Paris Agreement stressed the replacement of fossil fuels with low-carbon alternative energy resources. Nuclear energy is believed to be a low-carbon and sustainable energy source. Hence, identifying the determinants of nuclear energy investment within the framework of the Paris Agreement is crucial. Previously, most studies have identified the economic determinants of nuclear energy investment while ignoring the role of non-political factors such as digital government and political stability. This study fills this gap by estimating the impact of digital government and political stability on nuclear energy investment within the framework of the Paris Agreement using 26 nuclear energy-producing economies from 2003 to 2022. Empirical estimation of the model is done via the use of fixed effects model (FEM), random effects model (REM), two-stage least squares (2SLS), and generalised methods of moments (GMM) approaches. The outcomes of these approaches reveal that digital government and political stability are both helpful in enhancing investment in nuclear energy. However, the dummy variable of the Paris Agreement does not exert any significant influence on nuclear energy investment. Further, several control factors also don't impact nuclear energy investment, while only human capital boosts nuclear energy investment. Using these results, we suggest policymakers in top nuclear energy-producing economies should focus on digital government practices and political stability.