IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v34y2012i6p1864-1872.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Income inequality and carbon dioxide emissions: The case of Chinese urban households

Author

Listed:
  • Golley, Jane
  • Meng, Xin

Abstract

This paper draws on Chinese survey data to investigate variations in carbon dioxide emissions across households with different income levels. Rich households generate more emissions per capita than poor households via both their direct energy consumption and their higher expenditure on goods and services that use energy as an intermediate input. An econometric analysis confirms a positive relationship between emissions and income and establishes a slightly increasing marginal propensity to emit (MPE) over the relevant income range. The redistribution of income from rich to poor households is therefore shown to reduce aggregate household emissions, suggesting that the twin pursuits of reducing inequality and emissions can be achieved in tandem.

Suggested Citation

  • Golley, Jane & Meng, Xin, 2012. "Income inequality and carbon dioxide emissions: The case of Chinese urban households," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1864-1872.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:34:y:2012:i:6:p:1864-1872
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2012.07.025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988312001697
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2012.07.025?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yaguchi, Yue & Sonobe, Tetsushi & Otsuka, Keijiro, 2007. "Beyond the Environmental Kuznets Curve: a comparative study of SO2 and CO2 emissions between Japan and China," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(3), pages 445-470, June.
    2. Cohen, Claude & Lenzen, Manfred & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2005. "Energy requirements of households in Brazil," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 555-562, March.
    3. Druckman, Angela & Jackson, Tim, 2009. "The carbon footprint of UK households 1990-2004: A socio-economically disaggregated, quasi-multi-regional input-output model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 2066-2077, May.
    4. Kennedy, Christopher & Steinberger, Julia & Gasson, Barrie & Hansen, Yvonne & Hillman, Timothy & Havránek, Miroslav & Pataki, Diane & Phdungsilp, Aumnad & Ramaswami, Anu & Mendez, Gara Villalba, 2010. "Methodology for inventorying greenhouse gas emissions from global cities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 4828-4837, September.
    5. Perrels, Adriaan & Weber, Christoph, 2000. "Modelling Impacts of Lifestyle on Energy Demand and Related Emissions," Discussion Papers 228, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    6. Holtz-Eakin, Douglas & Selden, Thomas M., 1995. "Stoking the fires? CO2 emissions and economic growth," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 85-101, May.
    7. Wei, Yi-Ming & Liu, Lan-Cui & Fan, Ying & Wu, Gang, 2007. "The impact of lifestyle on energy use and CO2 emission: An empirical analysis of China's residents," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 247-257, January.
    8. Kok, Rixt & Benders, Rene M.J. & Moll, Henri C., 2006. "Measuring the environmental load of household consumption using some methods based on input-output energy analysis: A comparison of methods and a discussion of results," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(17), pages 2744-2761, November.
    9. Giovanni Baiocchi & Jan Minx & Klaus Hubacek, 2010. "The Impact of Social Factors and Consumer Behavior on Carbon Dioxide Emissions in the United Kingdom," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 14(1), pages 50-72, January.
    10. Pachauri, Shonali & Spreng, Daniel, 2002. "Direct and indirect energy requirements of households in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 511-523, May.
    11. Bin, Shui & Dowlatabadi, Hadi, 2005. "Corrigendum to "Consumer lifestyles approach to US energy use and the related CO2 emissions": [Energy Policy 33 (2005) 197-208]," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1362-1363, July.
    12. Heil, Mark T. & Selden, Thomas M., 2001. "Carbon emissions and economic development: future trajectories based on historical experience," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(1), pages 63-83, February.
    13. Kerkhof, Annemarie C. & Benders, Ren M.J. & Moll, Henri C., 2009. "Determinants of variation in household CO2 emissions between and within countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1509-1517, April.
    14. Reinders, A. H. M. E. & Vringer, K. & Blok, K., 2003. "The direct and indirect energy requirement of households in the European Union," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 139-153, January.
    15. Bin, Shui & Dowlatabadi, Hadi, 2005. "Consumer lifestyle approach to US energy use and the related CO2 emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 197-208, January.
    16. Weber, Christoph & Perrels, Adriaan, 2000. "Modelling lifestyle effects on energy demand and related emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(8), pages 549-566, July.
    17. Pachauri, Shonali, 2004. "An analysis of cross-sectional variations in total household energy requirements in India using micro survey data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(15), pages 1723-1735, October.
    18. Pachauri, Shonali & Jiang, Leiwen, 2008. "The household energy transition in India and China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 4022-4035, November.
    19. Lenzen, Manfred & Wier, Mette & Cohen, Claude & Hayami, Hitoshi & Pachauri, Shonali & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2006. "A comparative multivariate analysis of household energy requirements in Australia, Brazil, Denmark, India and Japan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 181-207.
    20. Weber, Christopher L. & Matthews, H. Scott, 2008. "Quantifying the global and distributional aspects of American household carbon footprint," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 379-391, June.
    21. Shafik, Nemat, 1994. "Economic Development and Environmental Quality: An Econometric Analysis," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 46(0), pages 757-773, Supplemen.
    22. Lenzen, Manfred & Dey, Christopher & Foran, Barney, 2004. "Energy requirements of Sydney households," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 375-399, July.
    23. Ravallion, Martin & Heil, Mark & Jalan, Jyotsna, 2000. "Carbon Emissions and Income Inequality," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 651-669, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rui Huang & Shaohui Zhang & Changxin Liu, 2018. "Comparing Urban and Rural Household CO 2 Emissions—Case from China’s Four Megacities: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Wiedenhofer, Dominik & Lenzen, Manfred & Steinberger, Julia K., 2013. "Energy requirements of consumption: Urban form, climatic and socio-economic factors, rebounds and their policy implications," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 696-707.
    3. Pottier, Antonin, 2022. "Expenditure elasticity and income elasticity of GHG emissions: A survey of literature on household carbon footprint," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    4. Yuan, Baolong & Ren, Shenggang & Chen, Xiaohong, 2015. "The effects of urbanization, consumption ratio and consumption structure on residential indirect CO2 emissions in China: A regional comparative analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 94-106.
    5. Tilov, Ivan & Farsi, Mehdi & Volland, Benjamin, 2019. "Interactions in Swiss households’ energy demand: A holistic approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 136-149.
    6. Ala-Mantila, Sanna & Heinonen, Jukka & Junnila, Seppo, 2014. "Relationship between urbanization, direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, and expenditures: A multivariate analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 129-139.
    7. Moises Neil V. Seriño, 2017. "Is Decoupling Possible? Association between Affluence and Household Carbon Emissions in the Philippines," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 31(2), pages 165-185, June.
    8. Li, Jun & Zhang, Dayong & Su, Bin, 2019. "The Impact of Social Awareness and Lifestyles on Household Carbon Emissions in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 145-155.
    9. Kok, Rixt & Benders, Rene M.J. & Moll, Henri C., 2006. "Measuring the environmental load of household consumption using some methods based on input-output energy analysis: A comparison of methods and a discussion of results," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(17), pages 2744-2761, November.
    10. Moises Neil V. Seriño & Stephan Klasen, 2015. "Estimation and Determinants of the Philippines' Household Carbon Footprint," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 53(1), pages 44-62, March.
    11. Lenzen, Manfred & Wier, Mette & Cohen, Claude & Hayami, Hitoshi & Pachauri, Shonali & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2006. "A comparative multivariate analysis of household energy requirements in Australia, Brazil, Denmark, India and Japan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 181-207.
    12. Kerkhof, Annemarie C. & Benders, Ren M.J. & Moll, Henri C., 2009. "Determinants of variation in household CO2 emissions between and within countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1509-1517, April.
    13. Buechs, Milena & Schnepf, Sylke V., 2013. "UK Households' Carbon Footprint: A Comparison of the Association between Household Characteristics and Emissions from Home Energy, Transport and Other Goods and Services," IZA Discussion Papers 7204, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Ryu Koide & Michael Lettenmeier & Satoshi Kojima & Viivi Toivio & Aryanie Amellina & Lewis Akenji, 2019. "Carbon Footprints and Consumer Lifestyles: An Analysis of Lifestyle Factors and Gap Analysis by Consumer Segment in Japan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-25, October.
    15. Duarte, Rosa & Mainar, Alfredo & Sánchez-Chóliz, Julio, 2012. "Social groups and CO2 emissions in Spanish households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 441-450.
    16. Lan-Cui Liu & Gang Wu & Jin-Nan Wang & Yi-Ming Wei, 2010. "China's carbon emissions from urban and rural households during 1992-2007," CEEP-BIT Working Papers 12, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEP), Beijing Institute of Technology.
    17. Wenwen Wang & Ming Zhang, 2015. "Direct and indirect energy consumption of rural households in China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 79(3), pages 1693-1705, December.
    18. Ramachandra, T.V. & Bajpai, Vishnu & Kulkarni, Gouri & Aithal, Bharath H. & Han, Sun Sheng, 2017. "Economic disparity and CO2 emissions: The domestic energy sector in Greater Bangalore, India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 1331-1344.
    19. Ethan Sharygin, 2013. "The Carbon Cost of an Educated Future: A Consumer Lifestyle Approach," VID Working Papers 1304, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    20. Jiansheng Qu & Tek Maraseni & Lina Liu & Zhiqiang Zhang & Talal Yusaf, 2015. "A Comparison of Household Carbon Emission Patterns of Urban and Rural China over the 17 Year Period (1995–2011)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-21, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income inequality; Carbon dioxide emissions; Household consumption; Urban China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • D57 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Input-Output Tables and Analysis
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:34:y:2012:i:6:p:1864-1872. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.