Arbeitspapier

Socioeconomic Inequality in Low-Carbon Technology Adoption

The widespread consumer adoption of low-carbon technologies (LCTs) is a cornerstone of net zero targets worldwide, however LCTs may not be equally distributed across socioeconomic characteristics. Our paper contributes to the literature by exploring socioeconomic inequality in LCT adoption and its underlying sources. We exploit nationally representative longitudinal data on the adoption of three key LCTs (solar photovoltaics, solar heating, and electric vehicles) in the UK. We investigate the aggregate role of predetermined socio-economic factors (including family background) in determining socioeconomic inequalities in LCT adoption. We further contribute to the literature by employing Shapley-decomposition techniques to reveal the relative contribution of each socioeconomic factor to the total estimated socioeconomic inequality. Our results suggest that socioeconomic inequalities in LCT adoption have fallen over the last decade but remained prevalent and highly significant. Analysis on longitudinal LCT adoption patterns shows that those following transitory LCT adoption patterns, and especially those who have recently adopted LCTs, are contributing to the reduction in the observed socioeconomic inequalities over time. Policies targeting the most disadvantaged socioeconomic background groups are crucial to mitigate the observed inequalities, potentially holding back the low-carbon transition.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 16114

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Electric Utilities
Alternative Energy Sources
Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
Other Economic Systems: Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty
Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
Thema
technology adoption
inequality
low carbon economy
renewable resources

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Burlinson, Andrew
Davillas, Apostolos
Giulietti, Monica
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
(wo)
Bonn
(wann)
2023

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:43 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Burlinson, Andrew
  • Davillas, Apostolos
  • Giulietti, Monica
  • Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Entstanden

  • 2023

Ähnliche Objekte (12)