Energy cost of living

Robert Herendeen and Jerry Tanaka

Energy, 1976, vol. 1, issue 2, 165-178

Abstract: We evaluate the energy requirements of household expenditures for all products from the 1960–1961 Consumer Expenditure Survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We use more detail and employ more accurate energy intensities than in a previous, preliminary work (R. Herendeen, Affluence and energy demand, Mechan. Engng, October, 1974), and also introduce a modest analysis of errors. We find that, within error bounds, one “universal” curve shows the dependence of energy impact of expenditures for households of 2 through 6 members. This curve bends down somewhat; that is, it is less than linear. The single-member household falls below the “universal” curve, apparently because of reduced purchases of actual energy. A typical poor household exerts ~65% of its energy requirements through its purchases of residential energy and auto fuel; for an affluent household, this fraction drops to 35%. We also find evidence that urban life is approximately 15% less energy intensive (Btu per dollar expended) than rural non-farm life.

Date: 1976
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (53)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:1:y:1976:i:2:p:165-178

DOI: 10.1016/0360-5442(76)90015-3

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