The Distribution of Energy Efficiency and Regional Inequality

Konferenzbeitrag

This paper studies the long-term distribution of energy-efficiency outcomes in the German residential sector. To uncover the underlying energy efficiency of buildings, we estimate the causal response of building-level heat energy demand to variability in heating degree days. We examine heterogeneity in temperature response using both panel fixed-effects and causal forests. Our results suggest that the distribution of energy-efficiency is not equitable in the West of Germany, with buildings located in the South attaining the best energy performance standards. Although the housing stock in the East is significantly older and thus less subject to building standards, they perform better than the West counterpart, likely as a result of large investments in retrofitting post-reunification. Finally, we show that the regional distribution of energy-efficiency reflects differences in heating needs - thus, the poorer energy performance of buildings in the North-West should be weighed against the warmer climatic zone.

Objekt anzeigen

• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Series: Beiträge zur Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2021: Climate Economics

Klassifikation und Themen

• Klassifikation: Wirtschaft ; Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies ; Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects ; Energy: Government Policy ; Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming
• Thema: Heat Demand ; Energy Efficiency ; Targeting ; Regional Distribution ; Climate Change

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): Singhal, Puja ; Hobbs, Andrew
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wer): ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics
• (wo): Kiel, Hamburg
• (wann): 2021

Weitere Informationen

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/242343