Exploring the determinants of energy poverty in Indonesia’s households: empirical evidence from the 2015–2019 SUSENAS

Abstract

Abstract This study explores the determinants of household-level energy poverty in Indonesia by using highly granular, household-level socioeconomic data on Indonesia from the 2015–2019 National Socioeconomic Survey (SUSENAS). This study utilizes two distinct methods to assess energy poverty in Indonesia with regard to accessibility, aiming to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the issue. Using logistic regression with the combination of district-level fixed effects and interactions between regional and yearly terms, this study finds that, in general, the likelihood of a household being under energy poverty is negatively associated with household expenditure, dwelling size, family size, full-time employment status, and the marital status and educational attainment of the household head, while the associations with other determinants, such as the gender of the household head and LPG and electricity prices, are positive. These associations between the incidence of energy poverty and households’ socioeconomic and demographic variables, as well as the prices of modern and alternative energy, are in parallel with the findings from other similar studies that have been conducted in other developing countries or regions. Furthermore, this study finds some substantial variations in the estimation results for Java and outside Java.