Work

Education Quality and Energy Poverty: Evidence from Chinese Elite Universities

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Using China’s higher education expansion as a natural experiment, we examine the causal effect of education quality on the proclivity to be in energy poverty. We find that education causes a reduction in the likelihood of being in energy poverty and that the point estimates are largest for those that attended elite universities, followed by those who attended non-elite universities and colleges. This finding is robust to alternative ways of measuring energy poverty, as well as a series of sensitivity checks. We find that cognitive ability, employment status, generalised trust and income mediate the relationship between education and energy poverty. JEL Classification : I23, I32, Q41

Source: The Energy Journal

DOI: 10.1177/01956574251330238

Authors: Haining Wang, Zhiming Cheng, Russell Smyth

Institutions: Sun Yat-sen University, UNSW Sydney, Macquarie University, Monash University

Language: English

Topic: Energy and Environment Impacts

Subfield: Pollution

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: No poverty, Quality education, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650