Do social assistance programs alleviate rural households’ energy poverty? evidence from China’s basic medical insurance scheme

Dongling Zhang, Yan Liu and Zhonghuang Li

Energy, 2024, vol. 313, issue C

Abstract: Government social assistance programs have significantly alleviated poverty. However, to our knowledge, few studies have analyzed their effectiveness in mitigating energy poverty. This paper applies the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) to measure the extent of rural households’ energy poverty in China. Using a two-way fixed effects model and quantile regression analysis, this study explores the long-term impact of China’s basic medical insurance system on rural households’ energy poverty. The findings indicate that basic medical insurance significantly reduces rural households’ energy poverty, with heterogeneous effects observed across different levels of energy poverty, household incomes, population sizes, and age distributions of household members. Enhancing farmers’ health conditions and reducing medical expenditure are key mechanisms through which basic medical insurance alleviates rural households’ energy poverty. Overall, these findings underscore the crucial role of social assistance programs in enhancing the quality of life for rural residents and contributing to global sustainable poverty governance.

Keywords: Rural households’ energy poverty; Basic medical insurance; Farmers’ health conditions; Medical expenditure; Sustainable poverty governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:313:y:2024:i:c:s0360544224037472

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2024.133969

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