Household size, energy use and the impact of climate on households

Qu, Yuhang (2024). Household size, energy use and the impact of climate on households. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

Preview

Qu2024PhD.pdf
Text - Accepted Version
Available under License All rights reserved.
Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

This thesis focuses on studying household equivalence scales, economies of scale in household energy use, as well as the amenity value of climate to households based on household level consumption expenditure data obtained from the nationally representative household surveys in China and India, the two most populous countries in the world. Following a brief Introduction in chapter one, the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System model is employed to estimate household equivalence scales in China in chapter two. The results suggest that the household equivalence scales are different between urban and rural households, and that there exist significant economies of scale in Chinese households.

In chapter three, I continue with the investigation of economies of scale but switch attention from China to India and focus on energy consumed by Indian households. In order to do this, two different but not unrelated concepts are introduced for analysis. The empirical results indicate that there exist significant economies of scale in household energy expenditure in India. By estimating the elasticity of per capita energy use with respect to household size for different types of energy, I find that the economies of scale for modern and cleaner energy (i.e., electricity and LPG) are greater than these for traditional and transition energy. In particular, I find that there are diseconomies of scale in households’ use of dung cake.

In chapter four, using the same dataset as used in chapter three, I focus on estimating the amenity value of climate to Indian households by incorporating climate variables into a popular system of demand, namely the Almost Ideal Demand System model. The results reveal that the climate plays a significant role in determining households’ cost of living in India. I find higher precipitation is an amenity, while heating and cooling degree days, as well as relative humidity are disamenities to Indian households. Chapter five summarizes the main findings of this thesis and also discuss the limitations as well as possible future work.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):