Does Off-Farm Employment Promote the Low-Carbon Energy Intensity in China’s Rural Households?

Ping Wang, Shen-Li Li and Shao-Hui Zou ()
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Ping Wang: School of Management, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
Shen-Li Li: School of Management, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
Shao-Hui Zou: School of Management, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: A study linking the two economic and social phenomena of rural labor force migration and energy transition can help analyze the underlying causes of rural “Energy Poverty”. However, how off-farm employment affects household low-carbon energy consumption and its potential mechanisms requires further research. Using 1351 sampled rural households from the “Rural Energy, Population Transfer and Well-being” survey in 2018 and 2021 to explore response mechanisms through which off-farm employment can influence low-carbon energy intensity. Utilizing the multivariate regression, Sobel test, and moderating effect test, the results demonstrate that off-farm employment, including short-term and long-term off-farm employment, significantly increases the intensity of low-carbon energy use among rural households. Specifically, long-term off-farm employment tends to have a greater positive contribution to the low-carbon energy intensity than short-term off-farm employment. Furthermore, off-farm employment can affect household low-carbon energy intensity through the total income, and effect of the surrounding people in the off-farm employment process also increases their consumption intensity. The research reveals that the rural energy revolution under the constraints of “Carbon Neutral” and “Carbon Peak” should relate to the off-farm development of rural households to achieve “Precise Energy Poverty Alleviation”.

Keywords: carbon neutralization; carbon peaking; rural residents; off-farm employment; low-carbon energy intensity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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