Are people energy poor because of their prosocial behavior? Evidence from Ghana

Amidst the variant energy poverty eradication strategies, little to no attention has been given to the behavioral-energy poverty nexus regardless of its potential. Using household data from Ghana, this paper examined the impact of acting prosocial on multidimensional energy poverty. Instrumenting prosocial behavior with perceived social solidarity, our estimates revealed that people who acted prosocial by volunteering were about 19.3% more likely to be energy poor than their counterparts who did not volunteer. Furthermore, the number of times volunteers engaged in prosocial activities increased their chances of being energy-poor by about 13.6%. These estimates were consistent with sensitivity checks and quasi-experimental techniques. The estimates showed more consistency for poorer, male, and rural-headed households. We also observed risk aversion as a prospective channel through which prosocial behavior affected energy poverty. These findings suggested the need for the incorporation of behavioral nudges into energy poverty eradication strategies.