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Energy poverty in rural and urban India : are the energy poor also income poor ?

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  • Khandker, Shahidur R.
  • Barnes, Douglas F.
  • Samad, Hussain A.

Abstract

Energy poverty is a frequently used term among energy specialists, but unfortunately the concept is rather loosely defined. Several existing approaches measure energy poverty by defining an energy poverty line as the minimum quantity of physical energy neededto perform such basic tasks as cooking and lighting. This paper proposes an alternative measure that is based on energy demand. The energy poverty line is defined as the threshold point at which energy consumption begins to rise with increases in household income. This approach was applied to cross-sectional data from a comprehensive 2005 household survey representative of both urban and rural India. The findings suggest that in rural areas some 57 percent of households are energy poor, versus 22 percent that are income poor. For urban areas the energy poverty rate is 28 percent compared with 20 percent that are income poor. Policies to reduce energy poverty would include support for rural electrification, the promotion of more modern cooking fuels, and encouraging greater adoption of improved biomass stoves. A combination of these programs would play a significant role in reducing energy poverty in rural India.

Suggested Citation

  • Khandker, Shahidur R. & Barnes, Douglas F. & Samad, Hussain A., 2010. "Energy poverty in rural and urban India : are the energy poor also income poor ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5463, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5463
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    4. Barnes, Douglas F. & Khandker, Shahidur R. & Samad, Hussain A., 2010. "Energy access, efficiency, and poverty : how many households are energy poor in Bangladesh ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5332, The World Bank.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Gadenne, Lucie, 2018. "Do Ration Shop Systems Increase Welfare? Theory and an Application to India," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 358, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    3. Chakravorty, Ujjayant & Pelli, Martino & Ural Marchand, Beyza, 2014. "Does the quality of electricity matter? Evidence from rural India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 107(PA), pages 228-247.
    4. Magdalena Cyrek & Piotr Cyrek, 2022. "Rural Specificity as a Factor Influencing Energy Poverty in European Union Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-24, July.
    5. Lucie Gadenne, 2020. "Can Rationing Increase Welfare? Theory and an Application to India's Ration Shop System," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 144-177, November.
    6. He, Xiaoping & Reiner, David, 2016. "Electricity demand and basic needs: Empirical evidence from China's households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 212-221.
    7. Sahil Ali & Nihit Goyal & Shweta Srinivasan, 2014. "Sustainable Access For All: Building Sustainability into Universal Energy Access," Southern Voice Occasional Paper 11, Southern Voice.
    8. Nguyen, Canh Phuc & Nasir, Muhammad Ali, 2021. "An inquiry into the nexus between energy poverty and income inequality in the light of global evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    9. Lin, Boqiang & Wang, Yao, 2020. "Does energy poverty really exist in China? From the perspective of residential electricity consumption," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    10. Shahzad, Umer & Gupta, Mansi & Sharma, Gagan Deep & Rao, Amar & Chopra, Ritika, 2022. "Resolving energy poverty for social change: Research directions and agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    11. J David Tàbara & Takeshi Takama & Manisha Mishra & Lauren Hermanus & Sean Khaya Andrew & Pacia Diaz & Gina Ziervogel & Louis Lemkow, 2020. "Micro-solutions to global problems: understanding social processes to eradicate energy poverty and build climate-resilient livelihoods," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 160(4), pages 711-725, June.
    12. Wang, Yao & Lin, Boqiang, 2021. "Performance of alternative electricity prices on residential welfare in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    13. Raymond Elikplim Kofinti & Josephine Baako-Amponsah & Prince Danso, 2023. "Household National Health Insurance Subscription and Learning Outcomes of Poor Children in Ghana," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(1), pages 357-394, February.
    14. Alegre-Bravo, Alonso & Lindsay Anderson, C., 2023. "Exploring the influence of multidimensional variables on access to electricity in rural areas of the Global South," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    15. Gupta, Srishti & Gupta, Eshita & Sarangi, Gopal K., 2020. "Household Energy Poverty Index for India: An analysis of inter-state differences," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    16. Prabir C. Bhattacharya & Vibhor Saxena, 2015. "Discrimination in Accessing Cleaner Cooking Fuels and Electricity in North India: The Role of Caste, Tribe, and Religion," Heriot-Watt University Economics Discussion Papers 1502, Department of Economics, School of Management and Languages, Heriot Watt University.
    17. Perera, Pradeep & Sarker, Tapan & Islam, K. M. Nazmul & Belaïd, Fateh & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2021. "How Precious Is the Reliability of the Residential Electricity Service in Developing Economies? Evidence from India," ADBI Working Papers 1211, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    18. Wang, Yao & Lin, Boqiang, 2022. "Can energy poverty be alleviated by targeting the low income? Constructing a multidimensional energy poverty index in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    19. Kofinti, Raymond Elikplim & Koomson, Isaac & Paintsil, Jones Arkoh & Ameyaw, Edward Kwabena, 2022. "Reducing children's malnutrition by increasing mothers' health insurance coverage: A focus on stunting and underweight across 32 sub-Saharan African countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    20. Reyes, René & Schueftan, Alejandra & Ruiz, Cecilia & González, Alejandro D., 2019. "Controlling air pollution in a context of high energy poverty levels in southern Chile: Clean air but colder houses?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 301-311.
    21. Zi, Cao & Qian, Meng & Baozhong, Gao, 2021. "The consumption patterns and determining factors of rural household energy: A case study of Henan Province in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    22. Vibhor Saxena & P.C. Bhattacharya, 2015. "Inequalities in accessing LPG and electricity consumption in India: The role of caste, tribe, and religion," Discussion Paper Series, School of Economics and Finance 201512, School of Economics and Finance, University of St Andrews, revised 25 Jun 2017.
    23. Praveen Kumar & Nishant Tiwary, 2020. "Role of Social Enterprises in Addressing Energy Poverty: Making the Case for Refined Understanding through Theory of Co-Production of Knowledge and Theory of Social Capital," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-13, October.
    24. Barkat, Karim & Alsamara, Mouyad & Mimouni, Karim, 2023. "Can remittances alleviate energy poverty in developing countries? New evidence from panel data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).

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