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Energy Poverty and Health Expenditure: Empirical Evidence from Vietnam

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  • Hang Thu Nguyen-Phung

    (Research Division, Asian Growth Research Institute, Fukuoka 803-0814, Japan
    Faculty of Information Technology, Hanoi University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam)

  • Hai Le

    (Department of Business, Swinburne Vietnam, FPT University, Hanoi 700000, Vietnam)

Abstract

Utilizing data from the 2016 Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey, we undertake an empirical investigation into the influence of energy poverty on the health expenditure of Vietnamese households. Employing a double-hurdle model, our empirical findings reveal a negative relationship between energy poverty and health expenditure. Specifically, our results indicate that for each incremental unit increase in energy poverty, there is a substantial reduction of 42.5 percentage points in the overall health expenditure of the households. Furthermore, as energy poverty deepens, we observe declines of 24.6 percentage points and 45.5 percentage points in the expenses incurred for inpatient/outpatient care and self-treatment, respectively. To validate the robustness of our results, we conduct several sensitivity analyses, including propensity score matching, double/debiased machine learning. Across all these methods, our findings consistently underscore the significant and persistent adverse impact of energy poverty on the examined outcome variables. Additionally, to examine the underlying pathways, we conduct a structural equation modeling analysis and find that the relationship between energy poverty and health expenses is mediated by household hospitalization and expenditures on essential items, such as food and daily necessities.

Suggested Citation

  • Hang Thu Nguyen-Phung & Hai Le, 2024. "Energy Poverty and Health Expenditure: Empirical Evidence from Vietnam," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-14, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:13:y:2024:i:5:p:253-:d:1389073
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Karmaker, Shamal Chandra & Sen, Kanchan Kumar & Singha, Bipasha & Hosan, Shahadat & Chapman, Andrew J. & Saha, Bidyut Baran, 2022. "The mediating effect of energy poverty on child development: Empirical evidence from energy poor countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    2. Cragg, John G, 1971. "Some Statistical Models for Limited Dependent Variables with Application to the Demand for Durable Goods," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 39(5), pages 829-844, September.
    3. Abbas, Khizar & Xie, Xiaoqing & Xu, Deyi & Butt, Khalid Manzoor, 2021. "Assessing an empirical relationship between energy poverty and domestic health issues: A multidimensional approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    4. Zhang, Dayong & Li, Jiajia & Han, Phoumin, 2019. "A multidimensional measure of energy poverty in China and its impacts on health: An empirical study based on the China family panel studies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 72-81.
    5. Song, Yan & Gao, Jian & Zhang, Ming, 2023. "Study on the impact of energy poverty on income inequality at different stages of economic development: Evidence from 77 countries around the world," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. Hang Thu Nguyen-Phung & Hai Le, 2024. "Urbanization and Health Expenditure: An Empirical Investigation from Households in Vietnam," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-17, June.
    2. 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).
    3. Yijun Yu & Hang Thu Nguyen-Phung & Hai Le, 2025. "Women’s Empowerment in Zimbabwe: Examining the Role of Educational Reform," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 489-531, March.

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