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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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    Cited by:

    1. 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).
    2. Lu, Can & Wan, Shenwei, 2025. "Determinants of energy poverty among Chinese households: Risk prediction model using machine learning algorithms," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(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.
    4. 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.

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