Energy Poverty and Alcohol Consumption

Abstract

The impact of energy poverty on alcohol consumption has not received much attention in the literature, yet it is of policy significance. We present the first study that examines the impact of energy poverty on alcohol consumption. We use 17 annual waves of data from a large Australian panel survey (2005–2021) and apply fixed-effects regression models to analyse the relationship between energy poverty and the likelihood of alcohol consumption. We found evidence of a negative relationship. Thus, being energy poor is associated with a decline in the likelihood of alcohol use. Separate analyses focused on different indicators of energy poverty and alcohol use demonstrate that the negative relationship is reinforced. However, energy poverty has a positive but statistically insignificant effect on risky alcohol behaviour.

Keywords

• energy poverty
• alcohol
• Australia