The Dynamics of Energy Poverty: Evidence from Spain

Abstract

Reducing the proportion of households defined as energy poor is an increasingly important policy objective. This paper uses longitudinal data to examine the level and dynamics of energy poverty in Spain, comparing the results to the level and dynamics of income poverty. Two alternative measures of energy poverty are used in the analysis-one based on energy expenditure, the other reflecting an individual's perceptions of difficulty in heating their home, paying utility bills and housing condition. The proportion of those in income poverty and also in energy poverty is relatively low suggesting a need for specific as opposed to general measures to address the latter. In relation to the dynamics of energy poverty, at the aggregate level there is a substantially greater movement out of expenditure-based energy poverty relative to subjective energy poverty and income poverty while the rate of re-entry into poverty was highest for the subjective energy poverty measure. The analysis also provides evidence of duration dependence in energy poverty. The results show clearly how mitigating expenditure behaviour reduces the level and alters the dynamics of expenditure-based energy poverty compared to subjective energy poverty. The implications for designing, targeting and monitoring energy policy are considered.

Measuring energy poverty in Japan, 2004–2013

“…5 Maintaining an adequate level of warmth at home is a clear example of such basic needs. Many studies empirically show that energy poverty is a distinct problem not subsumed into general income poverty (see, e.g., Pachauri et al, 2004;Hills, 2011Hills, , 2012Phimister et al, 2015). For this reason, Boardman (2010, p. 21) appropriately declares that currently, 'fuel poverty is politically accepted as a real problem'.…”

“…Subsequently, there is a recently growing literature on energy poverty in the UK, such as Boardman (2010), Chawla and Pollitt (2013), Moore (2012), and Waddams Price et al (2012), on other European Union (EU) countries such as Austria (Brunner et al, 2012), Germany (Heindl and Schuessler, 2015;Schuessler, 2014), and Spain (Phimister et al, 2015), and as a comparative study across the EU (Bouzarovski et al, 2012;Thomson and Snell, 2013). …”

“…To measure energy poverty, we employ the approach of energy budget shares discussed earlier. Following the conventional definition, a household is in energy poverty if it spends over 10% of its income on energy expenses (costs) (Boardman, 1991(Boardman, , 2010DECC, 2010;Heindl and Schuessler, 2015;Pachauri et al, 2004;Phimister et al, 2015;Schuessler, 2014). More concretely, our definition (hereafter the 10% measure) is a variant of the headcount ratio index P, in which the terms are the energy cost-income ratios of households (E i /Y i ) and the poverty line (z) equals 0.1. households.…”

Fuel poverty in the UK: Is there a difference between rural and urban areas?

“…Although the subjective nature of the questions mean that their exact relationship to fuel poverty is not always clear-cut, these measures avoid missing households that are "rationing their energy consumption" (Dubois 2012, p109). 3 Research shows that although related, the relationship between expenditure-based and subjective measures is often complex, and that subjective energy poverty measures can be useful in capturing aspects of energy poverty which expenditure-based measures may miss (Waddams Price et al, 2012;Phimister et al, 2015) In the analysis below we adopt the measure of fuel poverty based on actual expenditure and household income using data from the British Household Panel Survey, with an individual defined as being in fuel poverty if they are living in a household where household energy expenditure is above 10% of household income. Household energy expenditure is calculated using answers to available questions on the household's annual expenditure on electricity, gas, and heating oil.…”

Energy Poverty in Japan after the 2000s

“…Waddams Price et al (2012), on other European Union (EU) countries such as Austria (Brunner et al, 2012) and Spain (Phimister et al, 2015), and as a comparative study across the EU (Bouzarovski et al, 2012;Thomson and Snell, 2013). …”