High-speed internet access and energy poverty

Klaus Ackermann, Sefa Awaworyi Churchill and Russell Smyth

Energy Economics, 2023, vol. 127, issue PB

Abstract: We examine how access to high-speed internet affects the probability of being in energy poverty. To do so, we match data on Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) high-speed internet rollout across postcodes with longitudinal data that contains information on household energy poverty for a nationally representative sample of Australians. Applying a difference-in-difference approach, we find that a 1% increase in the proportion of a postcode that gains access to the NBN causes an average increase of 2.2% in the probability of being in energy poverty. We find that social capital is a channel through which access to high-speed internet transmits to energy poverty. Specifically, the rollout of high-speed internet access has contributed to lower levels of social capital and lower levels of social capital have contributed to higher levels of household energy poverty.

Keywords: NBN; Broadband; High-speed internet; Energy poverty; Social capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:127:y:2023:i:pb:s0140988323006096

DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2023.107111

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