Juggling the basics: How much does an income increase affect energy spending of low-income households in England?

IF 6.9 2区 经济学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Ray Galvin , Minna Sunikka-Blank , Tijn Croon
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Abstract

European governments have deployed targeted and untargeted financial support to protect vulnerable households from the impacts of the recent energy crisis. However, there is little knowledge of income elasticity of energy expenditure among households experiencing energy poverty. We therefore examine the link between energy expenditure and household income levels, considering a spectrum of factors including energy poverty status, energy efficiency of homes, and socio-demographics. We use England's official energy poverty definition, ‘Low-income, low-energy-efficiency’, and analyse the government's ‘Fuel Poverty Dataset’ from 2019. We find that, for all income groups, by far the greatest impact on energy expenditure is the dwelling's energy-efficiency rating, followed by floor area. An increase in income has negligible effects on energy expenditure for all income groups, but greatest for those in energy poverty, suggesting that even though most of their energy-oriented financial support is used for other pressing needs, this still offers some relief from energy poverty. We conclude that energy-efficiency improvements in homes would yield the most substantial and enduring financial benefits for these households, highlighting the need for targeted retrofitting policies. Additionally, older homeowners in energy poverty may need help to move into smaller, energy-efficient homes that are less expensive to heat.

兼顾基本需求:收入增加对英格兰低收入家庭能源支出的影响有多大?
欧洲各国政府已经部署了有针对性和无针对性的财政支持,以保护弱势家庭免受近期能源危机的影响。然而,人们对能源贫困家庭能源支出的收入弹性知之甚少。因此,我们研究了能源支出与家庭收入水平之间的联系,并考虑了一系列因素,包括能源贫困状况、家庭能源效率和社会人口统计。我们使用英格兰官方的能源贫困定义 "低收入、低能效",并分析了政府 2019 年的 "燃料贫困数据集"。我们发现,在所有收入群体中,对能源支出影响最大的是住宅的能效等级,其次是建筑面积。对所有收入群体而言,收入的增加对能源支出的影响微乎其微,但对能源贫困人群的影响最大,这表明尽管他们大部分以能源为导向的财政支持都用于其他迫切需求,但这仍能在一定程度上缓解能源贫困。我们的结论是,提高住宅能效将为这些家庭带来最可观、最持久的经济收益,这凸显了有针对性的改造政策的必要性。此外,处于能源贫困中的老年房主可能需要帮助,以便搬进较小的节能住宅,降低取暖成本。
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来源期刊
Energy Research & Social Science
Energy Research & Social Science ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES-
CiteScore
14.00
自引率
16.40%
发文量
441
审稿时长
55 days
期刊介绍: Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) is a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes original research and review articles examining the relationship between energy systems and society. ERSS covers a range of topics revolving around the intersection of energy technologies, fuels, and resources on one side and social processes and influences - including communities of energy users, people affected by energy production, social institutions, customs, traditions, behaviors, and policies - on the other. Put another way, ERSS investigates the social system surrounding energy technology and hardware. ERSS is relevant for energy practitioners, researchers interested in the social aspects of energy production or use, and policymakers. Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) provides an interdisciplinary forum to discuss how social and technical issues related to energy production and consumption interact. Energy production, distribution, and consumption all have both technical and human components, and the latter involves the human causes and consequences of energy-related activities and processes as well as social structures that shape how people interact with energy systems. Energy analysis, therefore, needs to look beyond the dimensions of technology and economics to include these social and human elements.
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