Energy-efficient homes: effects on poverty, environment and comfort

Research output: Working paperDiscussion paperAcademic

Abstract

Energy efficiency improvements in low income housing are increasingly
used as a policy instrument to alleviate poverty. Our paper shows that
this may come at the expense of reduced environmental benefits. We follow 125,000 Dutch low-income households during eight years and exploit a
quasi-experimental policy that diminished the heat losses in their homes.
We pay specific attention to the policy effects at the very left tail of the
income distribution. While the average after-policy reduction in natural
gas consumption for heating amounts to 22%, the poorest only save 16%.
We build and calibrate a microeconomic model explaining this pattern from
substitution between thermal comfort and other goods, and use it to compute welfare trade-offs of the policies.
Original languageEnglish
PublisherTinbergen institute
Number of pages62
Volume23
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Publication series

NameTinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
PublisherTinbergen Institute
No.082
Volume23

Keywords

  • Energy-efficient homes
  • Social housing
  • Poverty
  • Quasi-experiment
  • Retrofit
  • Welfare effects

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