The Impact of the Bono Social de Electricidad on Energy Poverty in Spain

Guillermo García Alvarez and Richard Tol
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Guillermo García Alvarez: Department of Economics, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom

Working Paper Series from Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School

Abstract: The Bono Social de Electricidad (BSE) is a government programme, introduced in 2009, to reduce energy poverty in Spain. The BSE is a discount on the price of electricity, available to vulnerable households who applied. Applying differences-in-differences and propensity score matching to household data between 2008 and 2011, we find no statistically significant impact of the intention to treat on two indicators of energy poverty, viz. the ability to keep the house adequately warm, and the presence of damp walls, rotting windows and leaking roofs. This may be because eligible households did not apply. A third indicator, delays in paying electricity bills, showed a statistically significant deterioration. That is, the BSE has not reduced energy poverty, if anything it has made it worse. This is not because eligible households transferred income to relatives hit harder by the financial crises, but it may be because the BSE discount did not fully compensate for the cold of 2010.

Keywords: Energy poverty; Spain; household data; policy evaluation; Bono Social de Electricidad (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I38 Q48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-eur and nep-reg
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Journal Article: The impact of the Bono Social de Electricidad on energy poverty in Spain (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sus:susewp:0420

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