IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v17y2024i19p4889-d1488805.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Household Energy Poverty in European Union Countries: A Comparative Analysis Based on Objective and Subjective Indicators

Author

Listed:
  • Agnieszka Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska

    (Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Hanna Dudek

    (Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Katarzyna Ostasiewicz

    (Faculty of Economics and Finance, Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, Komandorska 118/120, 53-345 Wroclaw, Poland)

Abstract

The study aims to assess household energy poverty in European Union (EU) countries, comparing them based on the Objective Energy Poverty Index and the Subjective Energy Poverty Index. The Objective Energy Poverty Index is derived from indicators such as energy expenditure share, risk-of-poverty rate, and electricity prices. The Subjective Energy Poverty Index includes indicators such as the inability to keep the home adequately warm, arrears on utility bills, and bad housing conditions. Both indices aggregate the indicators mentioned above using equal and non-equal weighting approaches. The analysis uses country-level data from 2019 to 2023 sourced from Eurostat. The findings indicate considerable variation in household energy poverty across the EU, with more pronounced inequalities in subjective indicators than objective ones. Additionally, the study reveals a weak correlation between the Objective Energy Poverty Index and the Subjective Energy Poverty Index, leading to differing country rankings based on these indices. However, the choice of weights in constructing the energy poverty indices does not significantly impact a country’s energy poverty ranking. The paper also identifies countries where household energy poverty decreased in 2023 compared to 2019 and those where it increased. Regarding the Subjective Energy Poverty Index, Croatia and Hungary showed the most notable improvement in their rankings among European countries, while France, Germany, and Spain deteriorated their positions. According to the Objective Energy Poverty Index, Bulgaria, Croatia, Portugal, and Spain demonstrated the most significant improvement, whereas Greece experienced a considerable decline.

Suggested Citation

  • Agnieszka Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska & Hanna Dudek & Katarzyna Ostasiewicz, 2024. "Household Energy Poverty in European Union Countries: A Comparative Analysis Based on Objective and Subjective Indicators," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-26, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:19:p:4889-:d:1488805
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/19/4889/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/19/4889/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paweł Ulman & Małgorzata Ćwiek, 2021. "Measuring housing poverty in Poland: a multidimensional analysis," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(8), pages 1212-1230, October.
    2. Joanna Mazurkiewicz & Piotr Lis, 2018. "Diversification of energy poverty in Central and Eastern European countries," Virtual Economics, The London Academy of Science and Business, vol. 1(1), pages 26-41, October.
    3. Gianni Betti & Francesca Gagliardi & Achille Lemmi & Vijay Verma, 2015. "Comparative measures of multidimensional deprivation in the European Union," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 1071-1100, November.
    4. Thomson, Harriet & Snell, Carolyn, 2013. "Quantifying the prevalence of fuel poverty across the European Union," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 563-572.
    5. Gianni Betti & Rossella Soldi & Ilija Talev, 2016. "Fuzzy Multidimensional Indicators of Quality of Life: The Empirical Case of Macedonia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 127(1), pages 39-53, May.
    6. Barbara Kryk & Malgorzata K. Guzowska, 2023. "Assessing the Level of Energy Poverty Using a Synthetic Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index in EU Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-31, January.
    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. Margherita Casini & Francesca Gagliardi & Gianni Betti, 2018. "Sustainable Development Goals indicators: a methodological proposal for a fuzzy Super Index in the Mediterranean area," Department of Economics University of Siena 782, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    2. Vijay Verma & Gianni Betti & Francesca Gagliardi, 2017. "Fuzzy Measures of Longitudinal Poverty in a Comparative Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 435-454, January.
    3. Martina Ciani & Francesca Gagliardi & Samuele Riccarelli & Gianni Betti, 2018. "Fuzzy Measures of Multidimensional Poverty in the Mediterranean Area: A Focus on Financial Dimension," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Gianni Betti, 2017. "Fuzzy measures of quality of life in Germany: a multidimensional and comparative approach," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 23-34, January.
    5. Margherita Casini & Simone Bastianoni & Francesca Gagliardi & Massimo Gigliotti & Angelo Riccaboni & Gianni Betti, 2019. "Sustainable Development Goals Indicators: A Methodological Proposal for a Multidimensional Fuzzy Index in the Mediterranean Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-25, February.
    6. Francesca Bettio & Elisa Ticci & Gianni Betti, 2020. "A Fuzzy Index and Severity Scale to Measure Violence Against Women," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 225-249, February.
    7. Gianni Betti, 2017. "What impact has the economic crisis had on quality of life in Europe? A multidimensional and fuzzy approach," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 351-364, January.
    8. Bettio, Francesca & Ticci, Elisa & Betti, Gianni, 2018. "A fuzzy approach to measuring violence against women and its severity," GLO Discussion Paper Series 171, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Hache, Emmanuel & Leboullenger, Déborah & Mignon, Valérie, 2017. "Beyond average energy consumption in the French residential housing market: A household classification approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 82-95.
    10. Bezerra, Paula & Cruz, Talita & Mazzone, Antonella & Lucena, André F.P. & De Cian, Enrica & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2022. "The multidimensionality of energy poverty in Brazil: A historical analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    11. Rodriguez-Alvarez, Ana & Llorca, Manuel & Jamasb, Tooraj, 2021. "Alleviating energy poverty in Europe: Front-runners and laggards," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    12. Ulman Paweł & Ćwiek Małgorzata, 2020. "Housing Poverty in Polish Households and its Diversity," Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia, Sciendo, vol. 20(1), pages 437-455, June.
    13. Aristondo, Oihana & Onaindia, Eneritz, 2018. "Inequality of energy poverty between groups in Spain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 431-442.
    14. Piotr Gradziuk & Aleksandra Siudek & Anna M. Klepacka & Wojciech J. Florkowski & Anna Trocewicz & Iryna Skorokhod, 2022. "Heat Pump Installation in Public Buildings: Savings and Environmental Benefits in Underserved Rural Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-16, October.
    15. Dorothée Charlier & Sondès Kahouli, 2019. "From Residential Energy Demand to Fuel Poverty: Income-induced Non-linearities in the Reactions of Households to Energy Price Fluctuations," The Energy Journal, , vol. 40(2), pages 101-138, March.
    16. Oula Ben Hassine & Hela Bouras, 2022. "Fuzzy Measures of Monetary and Non-monetary Deprivations in Tunisia," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 12(4), pages 65-71, July.
    17. Antoanneta Potsi & Antonella D’Agostino & Caterina Giusti & Linda Porciani, 2016. "Childhood and capability deprivation in Italy: a multidimensional and fuzzy set approach," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 50(6), pages 2571-2590, November.
    18. Caitlin Robinson & Stefan Bouzarovski & Sarah Lindley, 2018. "Underrepresenting neighbourhood vulnerabilities? The measurement of fuel poverty in England," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(5), pages 1109-1127, August.
    19. Gianni Betti & Costanza Consolandi & Robert G. Eccles, 2018. "The Relationship between Investor Materiality and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Methodological Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-23, June.
    20. Corina MURAFA, 2022. "Energy poverty and the vulnerable energy consumer in Romania: A curious case of policy schizophrenia," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(4(633), W), pages 57-68, Winter.

    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:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:19:p:4889-:d:1488805. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.