Ceremonial Equity: Low-Income Energy Assistance and the Failure of Socio-Environmental Policy

Higgins, Lorie; Lutzenhiser, Loren

doi:10.2307/3097042

Cited by 26 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Higher income significantly reduces LP but the marginal effects of income changes appear to be small. On the other hand, households that receive other federal cash benefits like TANF and noncash entitlement benefits like food stamps show 16.4% and 24.6% higher probabilities of LP, respectively, consistent with previous research suggesting social assistance programs are bundled (Higgins and Lutzenhiser 1995).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Harsher climates could also induce higher levels of household LP. 6 Previous research has found that rural households are more likely to participate in LIHEAP than nonrural households (Higgins and Lutzenhiser 1995), but research on food insecurity finds no difference in levels for rural households (Mykerezi and Mills 2010;Yen et al 2008). It is an empirical question whether rural and urban households have higher levels of LP and EI compared to suburban households.…”

Section: Model Specificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An extensive literature in economics has evaluated the efficacy of U.S. public assistance programs. Most of the large assistance programs like temporary aid to needy families (TANF), the supplemental nutritional assistance program (SNAP), women infant and children (WIC), and the national school lunch program (NSLP) have been evaluated many times over the last 40 years with advanced econometric methods to account for the self‐selection inherent in the voluntary choice of program and labor market participation (e.g., Higgins and Lutzenhiser ; Jensen ; Moffitt ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Low‐income Home Energy Assistance Program Participation on Household Energy Insecurity

Murray

Mills

2014

Contemporary Economic Policy

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The impact of the low-income home energy assistance program (LIHEAP), the single largest energy assistance program available to poor households in the United States has received little rigorous attention. If LIHEAP participation significantly improves low-income household energy security, funding cuts or eliminating the program could negatively impact the poor. This article empirically estimates the impact of LIHEAP on household energy security. The results indicate participation in LIHEAP significantly increases energy security in low-income households. Simulations suggest that elimination of the current household energy-assistance safety net will decrease the number of low-income energy secure households by over 17%. (JEL I38, Q48)

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Model Specificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Low‐income Home Energy Assistance Program Participation on Household Energy Insecurity

Murray

Mills

2014

Contemporary Economic Policy

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“…Reasons for this vary. Many low-income residents are unaware that they are qualified to receive weatherization assistance, and even if they are aware, the application and approval process is often slow and inconvenient (Higgins and Lutzenhiser 1995). However, awareness alone is not enough to encourage widespread adoption.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A hybrid simulation model for urban weatherization programs

Krejci

Passe

Dorneich

et al. 2016

2016 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC)

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In the face of climate change, cities are becoming interested in developing policies and programs that will increase sustainability and resilience in their neighborhoods. In particular, government officials, planning agencies, and residents of the City of Des Moines, Iowa, would like to find ways to improve the energy efficiency of their urban built environment. Weatherization of residential buildings is one way of reducing energy consumption, particularly in winter months. While financial incentives might increase residents' adoption of weatherization measures, research has shown that social interactions more strongly influence this decision. To enable stakeholders to explore different scenarios for encouraging weatherization, a hybrid simulation model that integrates an urban energy model with an agent-based model has been developed to connect the physical processes of built environment systems with the goals, constraints, and interactions that drive resident behavior. This paper describes an application of the model to a specific residential city block.

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“…LIHEAP and WAP are administered by two different federal agencies, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Department of Energy (DOE), respectively. These programs were created to combat rising energy costs and promote household energy sufficiency in response to the 1973 oil crisis 5 . However, after nearly fifty years of federal energy assistance, one in three US households (37 million), still experience energy poverty 3 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Recognition of and response to energy poverty in the United States

2020

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A household is energy poor when they cannot meet energy needs. Despite its prevalence, the US has not formally recognized energy poverty as a problem distinct from general poverty at the federal level, which limits effective responses. In this Review, we examine the measurement and evaluative metrics used by the two federally-funded energy programs focused on reducing high energy bills to understand how program eligibility requirements and congressional funding appropriations have shaped the national understanding and implementation of energy poverty assistance. We find that current measurement and evaluative metrics hinge on the distribution of government resources and the number of vulnerable households assisted, rather than improving household well-being and reducing overall energy poverty. We suggest that comparisons to formal food insecurity and fuel poverty recognition and national responses in the US and UK, respectively, can help inform the development of more comprehensive US responses to energy poverty going forward.

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Ceremonial Equity: Low-Income Energy Assistance and the Failure of Socio-Environmental Policy

Cited by 26 publications

References 22 publications

The Impact of Low‐income Home Energy Assistance Program Participation on Household Energy Insecurity

The Impact of Low‐income Home Energy Assistance Program Participation on Household Energy Insecurity

A hybrid simulation model for urban weatherization programs

Recognition of and response to energy poverty in the United States

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