IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v82y2025ics0160791x25001253.html

Small technologies make a big difference: Alleviating energy poverty to improve air quality

Author

Listed:
  • Nguyen, Canh Phuc
  • Doan, Nguyen
  • Doan, Huong

Abstract

Air pollution affects health and has implications for the economy and society. We present fresh evidence related to energy poverty alleviation and the impact of household practices on reducing air pollution, specifically the use of clean fuels and modern technologies for cooking. Estimates are applied to 84 low- and middle-income countries over the period 2010–2019. We conduct a comprehensive analysis by: (i) employing panel data estimates to identify the effect of energy poverty alleviation on air pollution; (ii) examining sources of heterogeneity in the influence of energy poverty alleviation in rural and urban areas, and analyzing the moderating impact of factors including institutional quality, human capital accumulation, internet diffusion, and financial development; (iii) using instrumental variables for given income thresholds as a robustness check. The results suggest that providing basic technologies for living, notably clean fuels or modern technologies for cooking, can improve air quality. Interestingly, this effect is more prominent in rural areas and countries with higher levels of financial development, better institutional quality, and higher internet usage. The findings align with the views of policymakers and economists who advocate increased funding to enhance clean energy for households to mitigate air pollution.

Suggested Citation

  • Nguyen, Canh Phuc & Doan, Nguyen & Doan, Huong, 2025. "Small technologies make a big difference: Alleviating energy poverty to improve air quality," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:82:y:2025:i:c:s0160791x25001253
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.102935
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X25001253
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.102935?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ullah, Assad & Dogan, Mesut & Pervaiz, Amber & Ather Bukhari, Azaz Ali & Akkus, Hilmi Tunahan & Dogan, Husna, 2024. "The impact of digitalization, technological and financial innovation on environmental quality in OECD countries: Investigation of N-shaped EKC hypothesis," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. González-Eguino, Mikel, 2015. "Energy poverty: An overview," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 377-385.
    3. Tenaw, Dagmawe & Beyene, Abebe D., 2021. "Environmental sustainability and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa: A modified EKC hypothesis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    4. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell & Farrell, Lisa, 2020. "Fuel poverty and subjective wellbeing," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    5. Rodriguez-Alvarez, Ana & Llorca, Manuel & Jamasb, Tooraj, 2021. "Alleviating energy poverty in Europe: Front-runners and laggards," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    6. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Shahzad, Syed Jawad Hussain & Ahmad, Nawaz & Alam, Shaista, 2016. "Financial development and environmental quality: The way forward," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 353-364.
    7. Le, Thai-Ha & Chang, Youngho & Park, Donghyun, 2016. "Trade openness and environmental quality: International evidence," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 45-55.
    8. Acheampong, Alex O., 2019. "Modelling for insight: Does financial development improve environmental quality?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 156-179.
    9. Chen, Jing & Zhou, Chunshan & Wang, Shaojian & Li, Shijie, 2018. "Impacts of energy consumption structure, energy intensity, economic growth, urbanization on PM2.5 concentrations in countries globally," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 94-105.
    10. Daim, Tugrul & Yates, Diane & Peng, Yicheng & Jimenez, Bertha, 2009. "Technology assessment for clean energy technologies: The case of the Pacific Northwest," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 232-243.
    11. Rautela, Kuldeep Singh & Goyal, Manish Kumar, 2025. "Modelling health implications of extreme PM2.5 concentrations in Indian sub-continent: Comprehensive review with longitudinal trends and deep learning predictions," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    12. Simionescu, Mihaela & Radulescu, Magdalena & Belascu, Lucian, 2024. "The impact of renewable energy consumption and energy poverty on pollution in Central and Eastern European countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    13. Hui Yang & Xinyuan Huang & Daniel M. Westervelt & Larry Horowitz & Wei Peng, 2023. "Socio-demographic factors shaping the future global health burden from air pollution," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 58-68, January.
    14. Pablo-Romero, María del P. & Sánchez-Braza, Antonio, 2015. "Productive energy use and economic growth: Energy, physical and human capital relationships," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 420-429.
    15. Li, Weiqing & Chien, Fengsheng & Hsu, Ching-Chi & Zhang, YunQian & Nawaz, Muhammad Atif & Iqbal, Sajid & Mohsin, Muhammad, 2021. "Nexus between energy poverty and energy efficiency: Estimating the long-run dynamics," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    16. Bashir, Muhammad Farhan & Ma, Beiling & Sharif, Arshian & Ao, Tong & Koca, Kemal, 2023. "Nuclear energy consumption, energy access and energy poverty: Policy implications for the COP27 and environmental sustainability," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    17. Wang, Shangrui & Cao, Anran & Wang, Guohua & Xiao, Yiming, 2022. "The Impact of energy poverty on the digital divide: The mediating effect of depression and Internet perception," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    18. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Vijaya Bhaskar Marisetty, 2020. "Financial inclusion and poverty: a tale of forty-five thousand households," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(16), pages 1777-1788, April.
    19. Barnes, Douglas F. & Khandker, Shahidur R. & Samad, Hussain A., 2011. "Energy poverty in rural Bangladesh," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 894-904, February.
    20. Sebastian Galiani & Stephen Knack & Lixin Colin Xu & Ben Zou, 2017. "The effect of aid on growth: evidence from a Quasi-experiment," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-33, March.
    21. Sider, Timothy & Alam, Ahsan & Zukari, Mohamad & Dugum, Hussam & Goldstein, Nathan & Eluru, Naveen & Hatzopoulou, Marianne, 2013. "Land-use and socio-economics as determinants of traffic emissions and individual exposure to air pollution," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 230-239.
    22. Wang, Wei & Xiao, Weiwei & Bai, Caiquan, 2022. "Can renewable energy technology innovation alleviate energy poverty? Perspective from the marketization level," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    23. Magazzino, Cosimo & Mele, Marco & Schneider, Nicolas, 2020. "The relationship between air pollution and COVID-19-related deaths: An application to three French cities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    24. Jean-Marie Chevalier & Nadia S. Ouédraogo, 2009. "Energy Poverty and Economic Development," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Jean-Marie Chevalier (ed.), The New Energy Crisis, chapter 4, pages 115-144, Palgrave Macmillan.
    25. Muhammed Ashiq Villanthenkodath & Mantu Kumar Mahalik & Almas Heshmati & Hooi Hooi Lean, 2024. "The impact of energy poverty on the aggregate and disaggregate material footprints in BRICS," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 67(11), pages 2477-2501, September.
    26. Okushima, Shinichiro, 2016. "Measuring energy poverty in Japan, 2004–2013," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 557-564.
    27. Wang, Ping & Han, Wei & Kumail Abbas Rizvi, Syed & Naqvi, Bushra, 2022. "Is Digital Adoption the way forward to Curb Energy Poverty?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    28. Zhao, Jun & Dong, Kangyin & Dong, Xiucheng, 2024. "How does energy poverty eradication affect global carbon neutrality?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    29. Chiara Certomà & Filippo Corsini & Marina Di Giacomo & Marco Guerrazzi, 2023. "Beyond Income and Inequality: The Role of Socio-political Factors for Alleviating Energy Poverty in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 167-208, September.
    30. Rashid Gill, Abid & Viswanathan, Kuperan K. & Hassan, Sallahuddin, 2018. "The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and the environmental problem of the day," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 1636-1642.
    31. Fareed, Zeeshan & Rehman, Mubeen Abdur & Adebayo, Tomiwa Sunday & Wang, Yihan & Ahmad, Munir & Shahzad, Farrukh, 2022. "Financial inclusion and the environmental deterioration in Eurozone: The moderating role of innovation activity," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    32. Nguyen, Canh Phuc & Su, Thanh Dinh, 2022. "The influences of government spending on energy poverty: Evidence from developing countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PA).
    33. Khandker, Shahidur R. & Barnes, Douglas F. & Samad, Hussain A., 2012. "Are the energy poor also income poor? Evidence from India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-12.
    34. repec:kap:iaecre:v:16:y:2010:i:4:p:410-418 is not listed on IDEAS
    35. Okyere, Charles Yaw & Abu, Benjamin Musah & Asante-Addo, Collins & Kodua, Theophilus Tweneboah, 2024. "Gendered health effects of cooking fuel technologies in southern Ghana," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    36. Gene M. Grossman & Alan B. Krueger, 1991. "Environmental Impacts of a North American Free Trade Agreement," NBER Working Papers 3914, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    37. Catherine Boulatoff & Michael Jenkins, 2010. "Long-term Nexus Between Openness, Income, and Environmental Quality," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 16(4), pages 410-418, November.
    38. Hao, Yu & Li, Ying & Guo, Yunxia & Chai, Jingxia & Yang, Chuxiao & Wu, Haitao, 2022. "Digitalization and electricity consumption: Does internet development contribute to the reduction in electricity intensity in China?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    39. 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).
    40. repec:dau:papers:123456789/11250 is not listed on IDEAS
    41. Nguyen Phuc Canh & Sangho Kim & Su Dinh Thanh, 2020. "Entrepreneurship and natural resource rent-seeking: The roles of institutional quality," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(2), pages 1159-1177.
    42. Sesan, Temilade, 2012. "Navigating the limitations of energy poverty: Lessons from the promotion of improved cooking technologies in Kenya," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 202-210.
    43. Farzin, Y. Hossein & Bond, Craig A., 2006. "Democracy and environmental quality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 213-235, October.
    44. Atif Jahanger & Muhammad Usman & Daniel Balsalobre‐Lorente, 2022. "Linking institutional quality to environmental sustainability," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1749-1765, December.
    45. Lamla, Michael J., 2009. "Long-run determinants of pollution: A robustness analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 135-144, November.
    46. Awan, Ashar & Alnour, Mohammed & Jahanger, Atif & Onwe, Joshua Chukwuma, 2022. "Do technological innovation and urbanization mitigate carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Moteng, Ghislain & Raghutla, Chandrashekar & Njangang, Henri & Nembot, Luc Ndeffo, 2023. "International sanctions and energy poverty in target developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    2. 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).
    3. Qiu, Hua & Sha, Yezhou & Zhang, Yixing, 2024. "Energy affordability and subjective well-being in China: Causal inference, heterogeneity, and the mediating role of disaster risk," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    4. Jahanger, Atif & Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Awan, Ashar & Adebayo, Tomiwa Sunday, 2024. "Uplifting India from severe energy poverty accounting for strong asymmetries: Do inclusive financial development, digitization and human capital help reduce the asymmetry?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    5. Avom, Désiré & Ngounou, Borice Augustin, 2025. "Bright cities and intelligences: Can access to ICTs sustainably reduce energy poverty in Africa?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    6. Agnoung Amang, Raïssa Elodie & Keneck-Massil, Joseph & Tadadjeu, Sosson, 2025. "Does state capacity influence energy poverty in developing countries?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    7. Messie Pondie, Thierry & Engwali, FON Dorothy & Ongo Nkoa, Bruno Emmanuel & Noubissi Domguia, Edmond, 2024. "Energy poverty and respiratory health in Sub-Saharan Africa: Effects and transmission channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    8. Recep Ulucak & Ramazan Sari & Seyfettin Erdogan & Rui Alexandre Castanho, 2021. "Bibliometric Literature Analysis of a Multi-Dimensional Sustainable Development Issue: Energy Poverty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-21, August.
    9. Chroufa, Mohamed Ali & Chtourou, Nouri, 2024. "The impact of income inequality on economic growth in MENA region: The role of energy poverty threshold effect," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    10. Li, Zhiqun & Xie, Shang & Wei, Dongming, 2025. "Household energy poverty and personal time allocation: Empirical evidence from China," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    11. Wang, Xiong & Yang, Wanping & Ren, Xiaohang & Lu, Zudi, 2023. "Can financial inclusion affect energy poverty in China? Evidence from a spatial econometric analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 255-269.
    12. Yasmeen, Rizwana & Shah, Wasi Ul Hassan, 2025. "Impact of business cycles on energy poverty: Exploring the significance with sustainable development goals in newly industrialized economies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 378(PA).
    13. Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Nguyen, Thanh-Tung & Hoang, Viet-Ngu & Wilson, Clevo & Managi, Shunsuke, 2019. "Energy transition, poverty and inequality in Vietnam," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 536-548.
    14. Ngounou, Borice Augustin & Wang, Mingsen & Zhu, Delong, 2025. "Does energy poverty undermine health spending in Africa? A comparative analysis of public and private healthcare spending," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    15. Khalid, Usman & Shafiullah, Muhammad & Chaudhry, Sajid M., 2024. "Does conflict aggravate energy poverty?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    16. Simionescu, Mihaela & Radulescu, Magdalena & Cifuentes-Faura, Javier & Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel, 2023. "The role of renewable energy policies in TACKLING energy poverty in the European UNION," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    17. Simionescu, Mihaela & Cifuentes-Faura, Javier, 2024. "The digital economy and energy poverty in Central and Eastern Europe," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    18. 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.
    19. Ma, Juan & Njangang, Henri, 2025. "The effect of gender inequality in internet access on energy poverty: A preliminary investigation in developing countries," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(6).
    20. Yasmeen, Rizwana & Huang, Haiping & Shah, Wasi Ul Hassan, 2024. "Assessing the significance of FinTech and mineral resource depletion in combating energy poverty: Empirical insights from BRICS economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:82:y:2025:i:c:s0160791x25001253. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.