Community-based energy revolution: An evaluation of China's photovoltaic poverty alleviation Program's economic and social benefits

Han Xiao, Feng Song, Xinye Zheng and Jiaying Chen

Energy Policy, 2023, vol. 177, issue C

Abstract: We use a unique micro dataset from the period of 2014–2021 to evaluate China's Photovoltaic Poverty Alleviation (PVPA) program. By employing a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that the community-based PVPA stations distributed in China are anti-poverty facilities that can reconcile equity and efficiency. The PVPA program not only significantly increases the total income of treated households, but also reduces the within-village inequality and encourages off-farm labor supply. Heterogeneity analysis suggests that the effect of PVPA is more substantial for households with a high dependency ratio and in villages where officials are well-educated. The benefit-cost ratio of a village-level PVPA station is greater than one, indicating that the community-based PVPA program is cost-effective.

Keywords: Photovoltaic poverty alleviation program; Community-based program; Green energy; Labor supply (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J22 Q20 Q22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:177:y:2023:i:c:s0301421523001404

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113555

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