Marques, António CardosoFuinhas, José AlbertoManso, Jose2019-01-142019-01-142010http://hdl.handle.net/10400.6/6771This paper analyses the impact of several factors on the use of renewable energy sources in a set of European Union countries, by applying a quantile regression approach.We find that different factors are effective for different levels of renewable energy commitment and the magnitudes of some effects evolve in accordance with the level of renewable energy sources used. Consequently, some policies that do not take into account the different stages could carry different effects. The results suggest that the lobbying effect of the established industries hampers the development of renewable sources, and that this effect is greater for lower initial level of renewable energy use. The results reveal that environmental concerns have not yet achieved enough pressure to stimulate major developments on renewables. We include two new drivers, geographic area and European Union Directive 2001/77/EC. That Directive was effective in signaling the commitment to renewables, namely for countries with lower renewables use.engRenewable energyQuantile regressionEU Directive 2001/77/ECEuropean countriesjournal article10.1007/s10640-010-9436-8