Sweating the energy bill: Extreme weather, poor households, and the energy spending gap

Jacqueline Doremus, Irene Jacqz and Sarah Johnston ()
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Sarah Johnston: Department of Agricultrual and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison

No 2101, Working Papers from California Polytechnic State University, Department of Economics

Abstract: We estimate the relationship between temperature and energy spending for both low and higher-income US households. We find both groups respond similarly (in percentage terms) to moderate temperatures, but low-income households' energy spending is half as responsive to extreme temperatures. Consistent with low-income households cutting back on necessities to afford their energy bills, we find similar disparities in the food spending response to extreme temperature. These results suggest adaptation to extreme weather, such as air conditioning use, is prohibitively costly for households experiencing poverty.

Pages: 50 pages
Date: 2021
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-ene and nep-env
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Tfi8g2_5XDm60R6xo ... /view?usp=drive_link Second version, 2021 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Sweating the energy bill: Extreme weather, poor households, and the energy spending gap (2022)
Working Paper: Sweating the energy bill: Extreme weather, poor households, and the energy spending gap (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cpl:wpaper:2101

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