Fuel poverty and Well-Being:A consumer theory and stochastic frontier approach

Abstract

Evidence and conventional wisdom suggest that general poverty has a negative effect on the well-being of individuals. However, the mechanisms through which this effect occurs are not well-understood. In this paper we analyse the effect of general and fuel poverty as well as the social dimension through peer comparison on the objective and perceived well-being of households. We develop a novel approach to analyse fuel poverty and well-being based on consumer theory. Individual preferences are modelled using indifference curves and a distance function where the preferences of individuals are affected by their poverty status. We use the survey data from the official Spanish Living Conditions Survey (SLCS) for 2013 which contains over 16,800 observations on household members. The results show that both general and fuel poverty influence the reference indifference curve but that individuals also compare themselves with their peers. The proposed model also allows us to corroborate how general and fuel poverty affect well-being and how effective policies can be designed to improve social welfare.

Multidimensional Energy Poverty and Mental Health: Micro-Level Evidence from Ghana

“…Results from our study revealed that an increase in energy deprivation heightened one's chances of being mentally unhealthy. Unlike previous studies [18][19][20][21], we found channels or indicators such as the lack of a refrigerator, electricity and modern cooking fuel inaccessibility, mobile phone deprivation and indoor air pollution to significantly deteriorate the mental health of household heads. We concluded by urging policymakers to adopt a holistic approach in solving issues of energy poverty where simultaneous attention is given to all the dimensions of energy poverty since they collectively have detrimental effects on mental health, especially in a developing country setting.…”

“…Yet, despite this growing interest in mental health and energy poverty, relatively little is known about how energy deprivation influences mental wellbeing [18] in developing economies, particularly in SSA, as most of these studies [18][19][20][21] have been concentrated in advanced economies. For example, using energy efficiency investments in homes of low-income areas to represent energy poverty, Gray et al [48] examined the linkages between energy poverty and the mental health of residents in a quasi-experimental field survey in Wales.…”

“…Examining the impact of multidimensional energy poverty on the mental health of individuals in developing country settings is invaluable to influencing policies. Studies that have examined this relationship have all relied heavily on unidimensional measures of energy poverty and have mostly focused on industrialized economies [18][19][20][21]. This raises concerns about the universal applicability of their results [22] since their metrics of energy poverty are usually inadequate in tracking the progress towards SDG 7.…”

“…Unlike previous studies [18][19][20][21], this study focused on a developing economy, as suggested by Liddell and Guiney, [13]. We precisely employed the socioeconomic panel household survey on Ghana [23] in analyzing this relationship.…”

Energy Poverty and Life Satisfaction: Structural Mechanisms and Their Implications

“…Current work on energy poverty is more focused on traditional, objective, and infrastructure-related variables than on self-perceived energy poverty as determinants and implications. Our research brings an unconventional perspective to some neglected facets of the impact subjective energy poverty has upon life satisfaction, in more precise terms than the negative relationship already unveiled in previous studies [26,[98][99][100]. Strengthening and expanding this literature niche may be a crucial aspect in increasing the awareness about the major role played by energy policies for the wellbeing of a society, in connection to health and social measures.…”