Spatial homogeneity and heterogeneity of energy poverty: a neglected dimension. Issue 1 (2nd January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mashhoodi, Bardia; Stead, Dominic; van Timmeren, Arjan
• Is Part Of: Annals of GIS. Volume 25:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 19
• Page End: 31
• Publication Date: 2019-01-02
• Subjects: Household energy expenditure -- energy poverty -- household energy consumption -- semi-parametric geographically weighted regression -- Netherlands; Geographic information systems -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 910.285
• DOI: 10.1080/19475683.2018.1557253
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1947-5683

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Since the 1970s, a variety of studies has searched for the sociodemographic, housing and economic determinants of energy poverty. A central question, however, has not been answered by any of the previous studies: what are the national-level determinants, i.e. the determinants that homogeneously provoke a high level of energy poverty in all areas of a country? What are the neighbourhood-specific determinants, i.e. the characteristics that have a heterogeneous impact across the neighbourhoods of a country? This study seeks to answer these questions by analysing the level of energy poverty, the percentage of households' disposable income spent on energy expenditure, in 2473 neighbourhoods of the Netherlands in 2014. By employing a semi-parametric geographically weighted regression analysis, the effects of two of the determinants of energy poverty are found to be spatially homogeneous: (i) percentage of low-income households and (ii) percentage of pensioners. The results indicate that the impacts of six of the determinants are spatially heterogeneous: (i) household size, (ii) percentage of unemployment, (iii) building age, (iv) percentage of privately rented dwellings, (v) number of summer days and (vi) number of frost days. Subsequently, the effects of spatially homogeneous and heterogeneous determinants are estimated and mapped; the results are discussed and some policy implications are proposed.