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Household appliance ownership and income inequality: Evidence from micro data in China

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Listed:
  • Li, Yating
  • Fei, Yinxin
  • Zhang, Xiao-Bing
  • Qin, Ping

Abstract

As the residential sector is becoming increasingly important in the total energy consumption and appliance ownership is a significant but under-examined driver, this study investigates the relationship between income inequality and appliance ownership using panel data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). We find that income inequality has negative impacts on appliance penetration rate across specifications, except for the initial development stage. On average, households start adopting air conditioners at a threshold of over 60,000 (2011 RMB) based on annual income, much higher than TV, fridge and washer (8500–9000 RMB). The empirical results validate the S-shape curve of appliance established in the literature. To understand the magnitude of the impact and policy implications, we further simulate the impact of poverty alleviation and the penetration paths under inclusive versus exclusive income growth. Our results demonstrate that current poverty line is too low to achieve appliance adoption – a signal for modern life-styles. In addition, a more inclusive growth path could lead to much higher penetration for regions that have relatively low growth rate.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Yating & Fei, Yinxin & Zhang, Xiao-Bing & Qin, Ping, 2019. "Household appliance ownership and income inequality: Evidence from micro data in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:56:y:2019:i:c:2
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2019.101309
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nsangou, Jean Calvin & Kenfack, Joseph & Nzotcha, Urbain & Ngohe Ekam, Paul Salomon & Voufo, Joseph & Tamo, Thomas T., 2022. "Explaining household electricity consumption using quantile regression, decision tree and artificial neural network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    2. Lei, Mingyu & Ding, Qun & Cai, Wenjia & Wang, Can, 2022. "The exploration of joint carbon mitigation actions between demand- and supply-side for specific household consumption behaviors — A case study in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    3. Li, Chuan-Zhong & Wei, Chu & Yu, Yang, 2020. "Income threshold, household appliance ownership and residential energy consumption in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    4. Lei, Mingyu & Cai, Wenjia & Liu, Wenling & Wang, Can, 2022. "The heterogeneity in energy consumption patterns and home appliance purchasing preferences across urban households in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Penetration rate; Income inequality; Energy consumption; Diffusion model; Chinese household;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities
    • Q40 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - General
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources

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