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Open AccessArticle
Household Energy Poverty in European Union Countries: A Comparative Analysis Based on Objective and Subjective Indicators
by
Agnieszka Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska
Agnieszka Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska 1,*,
Hanna Dudek
Hanna Dudek
Hanna Dudek is an Associate Professor in the Department of Econometrics and Statistics at the Warsaw [...]
Hanna Dudek is an Associate Professor in the Department of Econometrics and Statistics at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. She serves as the head of the Chair of Econometrics and Financial Engineering at the Institute of Economics and Finance. Her research areas include applied econometrics, multidimensional poverty analysis, food insecurity, and consumer demand analysis. She has authored over 100 papers published in scientific journals.
1 and
Katarzyna Ostasiewicz
Katarzyna Ostasiewicz 2
1
Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
2
Faculty of Economics and Finance, Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, Komandorska 118/120, 53-345 Wroclaw, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2024, 17(19), 4889; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17194889 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 19 August 2024
/
Revised: 19 September 2024
/
Accepted: 23 September 2024
/
Published: 29 September 2024
Abstract
The study aims to assess household energy poverty in European Union (EU) countries, comparing them based on the Objective Energy Poverty Index and the Subjective Energy Poverty Index. The Objective Energy Poverty Index is derived from indicators such as energy expenditure share, risk-of-poverty rate, and electricity prices. The Subjective Energy Poverty Index includes indicators such as the inability to keep the home adequately warm, arrears on utility bills, and bad housing conditions. Both indices aggregate the indicators mentioned above using equal and non-equal weighting approaches. The analysis uses country-level data from 2019 to 2023 sourced from Eurostat. The findings indicate considerable variation in household energy poverty across the EU, with more pronounced inequalities in subjective indicators than objective ones. Additionally, the study reveals a weak correlation between the Objective Energy Poverty Index and the Subjective Energy Poverty Index, leading to differing country rankings based on these indices. However, the choice of weights in constructing the energy poverty indices does not significantly impact a country’s energy poverty ranking. The paper also identifies countries where household energy poverty decreased in 2023 compared to 2019 and those where it increased. Regarding the Subjective Energy Poverty Index, Croatia and Hungary showed the most notable improvement in their rankings among European countries, while France, Germany, and Spain deteriorated their positions. According to the Objective Energy Poverty Index, Bulgaria, Croatia, Portugal, and Spain demonstrated the most significant improvement, whereas Greece experienced a considerable decline.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska, A.; Dudek, H.; Ostasiewicz, K.
Household Energy Poverty in European Union Countries: A Comparative Analysis Based on Objective and Subjective Indicators. Energies 2024, 17, 4889.
https://doi.org/10.3390/en17194889
AMA Style
Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska A, Dudek H, Ostasiewicz K.
Household Energy Poverty in European Union Countries: A Comparative Analysis Based on Objective and Subjective Indicators. Energies. 2024; 17(19):4889.
https://doi.org/10.3390/en17194889
Chicago/Turabian Style
Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska, Agnieszka, Hanna Dudek, and Katarzyna Ostasiewicz.
2024. "Household Energy Poverty in European Union Countries: A Comparative Analysis Based on Objective and Subjective Indicators" Energies 17, no. 19: 4889.
https://doi.org/10.3390/en17194889
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