IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ejn/ejbmjr/v8y2020i3p191-204.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy Demand and Race Explained in South Africa: A Case of Electricity

Author

Listed:
  • David Mhlanga

    (University of Johannesburg, South Africa)

  • Rufaro Garidzirai

    (Walter Sisulu University, South Africa)

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of race in the demand for energy in South Africa using electricity as a case study. The driving force behind the study was to establish whether race still plays a role in access to energy in the country, 26 years into democracy. The study’s contribution is premised on influencing the development of policy that addresses energy inequality in South Africa and the world at large. Using the logistic regression analysis, the study found that race still plays a role in the demand for energy in South Africa. The odds of demand for electricity for the White population was 46.748 per cent higher than that of Blacks, Colored, and Indians combined. Other significant variables were gender, age of household head, net household income per month in Rand and household size. Despite constituting much of the populace in South Africa, the demand for electricity of the Black population was third compared to other races. Such findings reflect the reality that many of the Black households are suffering from energy poverty. Given these results, it is recommended that the South African government invests more in energy and alternative sources of clean energy such as solar and wind which can cater for much of the population.

Suggested Citation

  • David Mhlanga & Rufaro Garidzirai, 2020. "Energy Demand and Race Explained in South Africa: A Case of Electricity," Eurasian Journal of Business and Management, Eurasian Publications, vol. 8(3), pages 191-204.
    • Handle: RePEc:ejn:ejbmjr:v:8:y:2020:i:3:p:191-204
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://eurasianpublications.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/EJBM-8.3.3.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard S.J. Tol, 2020. "Alternatives to cost-benefit analysis," Video Library 2020, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    2. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Démurger, Sylvie & Li, Shi & Wang, Jianguo, 2020. "Unequal migration and urbanisation gains in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    3. Theresa Grafeneder-Weissteiner & Klaus Prettner & Jens Südekum, 2020. "Three Pillars of Urbanization: Migration, Aging, and Growth," De Economist, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 259-278, June.
    4. Lina Zhong & Xiaonan Li & Rob Law & Sunny Sun, 2020. "Developing Sustainable Urbanization Index: Case of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-23, June.
    5. ., 2020. "Benefits and concerns," Chapters, in: Evolutionary Spatial Economics, chapter 26, pages 552-558, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Stefan Bouzarovski & Sergio Tirado Herrero, 2017. "Geographies of injustice: the socio-spatial determinants of energy poverty in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 27-50, January.
    7. Longhi, Simonetta, 2015. "Residential energy expenditures and the relevance of changes in household circumstances," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 440-450.
    8. Haider Mahmood & Tarek Tawfik Yousef Alkhateeb & Maleeha Mohammed Zaaf Al-Qahtani & Zafrul Allam & Nawaz Ahmad & Maham Furqan, 2020. "Urbanization, Oil Price and Pollution in Saudi Arabia," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 10(2), pages 477-482.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Koomson, Isaac & Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa, 2022. "Employment precarity and energy poverty in post-apartheid South Africa: Exploring the racial and ethnic dimensions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    2. Lin, Boqiang & Okyere, Michael Adu, 2023. "Race and energy poverty: The moderating role of subsidies in South Africa," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    3. Isaac Koomson & Michael Danquah & Edward Martey, 2023. "Ethnic diversity and financial inclusion in post-apartheid South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-119, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Koomson, Isaac & Afoakwah, Clifford & Ampofo, Akwasi, 2022. "How does ethnic diversity affect energy poverty? Insights from South Africa," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    5. Ngarava, Saul & Zhou, Leocadia & Ningi, Thulani & Chari, Martin M. & Mdiya, Lwandiso, 2022. "Gender and ethnic disparities in energy poverty: The case of South Africa," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

    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. Xinkuo Xu & Liyan Han, 2017. "Diverse Effects of Consumer Credit on Household Carbon Emissions at Quantiles: Evidence from Urban China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-25, September.
    2. Lai, Tat-Kei & Wang, Luhang, 2024. "Spatial disparity of skill premium in China: The role of financial intermediation development," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    3. Kunal M. Shelote & Hindavi R. Gavali & Ana Bras & Rahul V. Ralegaonkar, 2021. "Utilization of Co-Fired Blended Ash and Chopped Basalt Fiber in the Development of Sustainable Mortar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-19, January.
    4. Cheng, Zhiming & Guo, Liwen & Smyth, Russell & Tani, Massimiliano, 2022. "Childhood adversity and energy poverty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    5. Zhipeng Gao & Zhenyu Wang & Mi Zhou, 2023. "Is China’s Urbanization Inclusive?—Comparative Research Based on Machine Learning Algorithms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-16, February.
    6. Fleckinger, Pierre & Glachant, Matthieu & Tamokoué Kamga, Paul-Hervé, 2019. "Energy Performance Certificates and investments in building energy efficiency: A theoretical analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(S1).
    7. Anna Zsofia Bajomi & Nóra Feldmár & Sergio Tirado-Herrero, 2021. "Will Plans to Ease Energy Poverty Go Up in Smoke? Assessing the Hungarian NECP through the Lens of Solid Fuel Users’ Vulnerabilities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-20, November.
    8. Gao, Yuan & Yu, Lu, 2024. "Understanding the impacts of ecological compensation policies on energy poverty: insights from forest communities in Zhejiang, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    9. Łukasz Mamica & Jakub Głowacki & Kamil Makieła, 2021. "Determinants of the Energy Poverty of Polish Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-15, June.
    10. Mara Hammerle & Paul J. Burke, 2022. "Solar PV and energy poverty in Australia's residential sector," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(4), pages 822-841, October.
    11. Hendrik Schmitz & Reinhard Madlener, 2020. "Heterogeneity in price responsiveness for residential space heating in Germany," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(5), pages 2255-2281, November.
    12. Loi, Tian Sheng Allan & Loo, Soh Leng, 2016. "The impact of Singapore’s residential electricity conservation efforts and the way forward. Insights from the bounds testing approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 735-743.
    13. Rabiu Maijama’a & Kabiru Saidu Musa, 2020. "Crude Oil Price, Urbanization and Environmental Pollution in Nigeria: Evidence from ARDL Approach," Asian Journal of Economic Modelling, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 8(4), pages 227-240, December.
    14. Jakub Sokołowski & Jan Frankowski & Piotr Lewandowski, 2024. "Energy poverty, housing conditions, and self-assessed health: evidence from Poland," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(9), pages 2325-2354, October.
    15. Muhammad Tanveer & Harsandaldeep Kaur & George Thomas & Haider Mahmood & Mandakini Paruthi & Zhang Yu, 2021. "Mobile Phone Buying Decisions among Young Adults: An Empirical Study of Influencing Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-18, September.
    16. Wanying Zhong & Yue Wang, 2022. "A study on the spatial and temporal variation of urban integrated vulnerability in Southwest 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. 114(3), pages 2855-2882, December.
    17. Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M. & Pietrostefani, Elisabetta, 2019. "The economic effects of density: A synthesis," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 93-107.
    18. Zhang, Junyi & Teng, Fei & Zhou, Shaojie, 2020. "The structural changes and determinants of household energy choices and energy consumption in urban China: Addressing the role of building type," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    19. Qian Zhang & Joris Hoekstra, 2020. "Policies towards Migrants in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Region, China: Does Local Hukou Still Matter after the Hukou Reform?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-24, December.
    20. Tanveer, Muhammad & Mahmood, Haider & Haq, Ikram Ul & Rather, Raouf Ahmad & Ali, Haider, 2021. "Higher Education Quality Assurance Framework Pathway for Transformation in Pakistan: Managerial and Economic Perspectives," MPRA Paper 109253, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    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:ejn:ejbmjr:v:8:y:2020:i:3:p:191-204. 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: Esra Barakli (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.