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ID: 114285

Are the energy poor also income poor? evidence from India / Khandker, Shahidur R; Barnes, Douglas F; Samad, Hussain A

Barnes, Douglas F	Journal Article
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2012.

Summary/Abstract

The energy poverty line is defined as the threshold point at which energy consumption begins to rise with increases in household income. This approach is applied to cross-sectional data from a comprehensive 2005 household survey representative of both urban and rural India. The objective is to determine if the energy poor are also income poor and whether and how energy policies help reduce energy poverty, independent of income. The findings suggest that in rural areas some 57% of households are energy poor, versus 22% that are income poor. But in urban areas the energy poverty rate is 28% compared to 20% that are income poor. That is, energy policies are expected to play some roles in mitigating energy poverty. We find that reducing energy poverty requires not only support for rural electrification, but also more use of modern cooking fuels such as LPG. While income growth matters, a combination of energy related programs can play an independent and substantial role in reducing energy poverty.

Key Words

India ; Energy Poverty ; Income Poverty

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ID: 110669

Energy poverty in rural Bangladesh / Barnes, Douglas F; Khandker, Shahidur R; Samad, Hussain A.

Barnes, Douglas F	Journal Article
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Publication

2011.

Summary/Abstract

Energy poverty is a well-established concept among energy and development specialists. International development organizations frequently cite energy-poverty alleviation as a necessary condition to reduce income poverty. Several approaches used to measure energy poverty over the past 20 years have defined the energy poverty line as the minimum quantity of physical energy needed to perform such basic tasks as cooking and lighting. This paper uses a demand-based approach to define the energy poverty line as the threshold point at which energy consumption begins to rise with increases in household income. At or below this threshold point, households consume a bare minimum level of energy and should be considered energy poor. This approach was applied using cross-sectional data from a comprehensive 2004 household survey representative of rural Bangladesh. The findings suggest that some 58 percent of rural households in Bangladesh are energy poor, versus 45 percent that are income poor. The findings also suggest that policies to support rural electrification and greater use of improved biomass stoves might play a significant role in reducing energy poverty.

Key Words

Rural Electrification ; Energy Poverty

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