The graying and the energy-poor: How population aging deepens multidimensional energy poverty in rural China

The complex intersection of population aging and energy poverty poses a major challenge to achieving global sustainable development. Understanding the pathways through which population aging influences energy poverty is essential for designing inclusive and effective energy policies. Drawing on unbalanced panel data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) between 2014 and 2022, this study constructs a multidimensional energy poverty index that incorporates accessibility, cleanliness, and affordability. Using a multidimensional fixed-effects model (MDFE), alongside propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA), we empirically examine how population aging affects household multidimensional energy poverty. The results show that: (1) population aging significantly worsens multidimensional energy poverty among rural households, and this conclusion remains robust across extensive sensitivity checks; (2) mechanism analysis reveals that population aging aggravates multidimensional energy poverty primarily by reducing total household income, increasing healthcare expenditure, and tightening credit constraints, while precautionary savings provide only limited mitigation; and (3) heterogeneity analysis indicates that the adverse impact of population aging is particularly pronounced among low-income households, small households, single-livelihood households, and households located in central and western regions. Overall, this study underscores the need to integrate demographic dynamics into energy poverty governance and calls for targeted, age-responsive, and regionally differentiated energy policy strategies.