Energy transition, poverty and inequality in Vietnam

authored by

Trung Thanh Nguyen, Viet Ngu Hoang, Clevo Wilson, Shunsuke Managi

Abstract

This paper investigates energy transition, energy poverty and energy inequality in Vietnam employing a longitudinal dataset of a nationally representative household survey. We use the data on residential energy expenditure of more than 9,000 households over the period 2004–2016. We find a transition from traditional energy to modern energy but this transition varies across regions, between ethnic and welfare groups and between rural and urban population. The poor and ethnic minority households still rely heavily on traditional energy sources such as coal and biomass to meet their energy demands. Electricity poverty has decreased but energy-cost poverty has increased. In addition, energy inequality tends to decrease at a more significant rate than income and consumption inequalities. We propose a national program for energy poverty alleviation be established to devise policies to lower households’ energy costs. Further assistance to the poor and ethnic minority households is also recommended so that they can afford a higher level of electricity consumption.

Organisation(s)

Faculty of Economics and Management

External Organisation(s)

Queensland University of Technology
Kyushu University

Type

Article

Journal

Energy policy

Volume

132

Pages

536-548

No. of pages

13

ISSN

0301-4215

Publication date

09.2019

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Energy(all), Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 1 - No Poverty, SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy

Electronic version(s)

https://eprints.qut.edu.au/197446/1/43573430.pdf (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.06.001 (Access: Closed)