How does early-life famine experience influence household energy transition?
The transition of households towards cleaner energy is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals. However, the impacts and associated mechanisms of early-life experiences on household energy transition have not been considered. Based on data from the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey, thi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023099164 |
| _version_ | 1797383911262650368 |
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| author | Feiran Wang Tianyu Wei Shulei Cheng Lu Zhuang Shuqin Lan |
| author_facet | Feiran Wang Tianyu Wei Shulei Cheng Lu Zhuang Shuqin Lan |
| author_sort | Feiran Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The transition of households towards cleaner energy is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals. However, the impacts and associated mechanisms of early-life experiences on household energy transition have not been considered. Based on data from the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey, this study aimed to investigate whether people experiencing China's Great Famine (1959–1961) in their early life promoted household energy transition in adulthood. The varying severity of the Great Famine in different provinces was characterised as a quasi-natural experiment and was used to perform difference-in-differences (DID) estimation analysis for birth cohorts. The results showed that the transitions from firewood, agricultural waste, and animal waste to liquefied petroleum gas and electricity were significant in households with the Great Famine experiences. Specifically, the long-term energy transition effect of the famine was exhibited mostly in those who experienced the famine during childhood (4–11 years old) and adolescence (12–17 years old). Besides, early-life famine experiences led to poor physical health, and more modern forms of energy, such as electricity, were consumed to avoid further deteriorating health. Early-life famine experience also brought psychological trauma to people at that time, which led them to increase Internet use to gain emotional support, and the increased Internet use provided better access to information about the energy transition. Moreover, the household energy transition influenced by early-life famine experience occurred more in female-headed, rural, more educated, and low-income households. Our results illustrated the role of early-life famine experience in household energy transition and provided new insights into developing effective energy policies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:27:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-19f775a9ccb54d25839dd9cf68a84660 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:27:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-19f775a9ccb54d25839dd9cf68a846602023-12-21T07:34:22ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402023-12-01912e22708How does early-life famine experience influence household energy transition?Feiran Wang0Tianyu Wei1Shulei Cheng2Lu Zhuang3Shuqin Lan4Center for China Fiscal Development, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, 102206, ChinaSchool of Government, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, ChinaSchool of Public Administration, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, 611130, China; Corresponding author.Center for China Fiscal Development, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, 102206, ChinaSchool of Insurance, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, 102206, ChinaThe transition of households towards cleaner energy is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals. However, the impacts and associated mechanisms of early-life experiences on household energy transition have not been considered. Based on data from the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey, this study aimed to investigate whether people experiencing China's Great Famine (1959–1961) in their early life promoted household energy transition in adulthood. The varying severity of the Great Famine in different provinces was characterised as a quasi-natural experiment and was used to perform difference-in-differences (DID) estimation analysis for birth cohorts. The results showed that the transitions from firewood, agricultural waste, and animal waste to liquefied petroleum gas and electricity were significant in households with the Great Famine experiences. Specifically, the long-term energy transition effect of the famine was exhibited mostly in those who experienced the famine during childhood (4–11 years old) and adolescence (12–17 years old). Besides, early-life famine experiences led to poor physical health, and more modern forms of energy, such as electricity, were consumed to avoid further deteriorating health. Early-life famine experience also brought psychological trauma to people at that time, which led them to increase Internet use to gain emotional support, and the increased Internet use provided better access to information about the energy transition. Moreover, the household energy transition influenced by early-life famine experience occurred more in female-headed, rural, more educated, and low-income households. Our results illustrated the role of early-life famine experience in household energy transition and provided new insights into developing effective energy policies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023099164Household energy transitionEarly-life famine experiencePhysical healthInternet useChina's great famineCohort difference-in-differences approach |
| spellingShingle | Feiran Wang Tianyu Wei Shulei Cheng Lu Zhuang Shuqin Lan How does early-life famine experience influence household energy transition? Heliyon Household energy transition Early-life famine experience Physical health Internet use China's great famine Cohort difference-in-differences approach |
| title | How does early-life famine experience influence household energy transition? |
| title_full | How does early-life famine experience influence household energy transition? |
| title_fullStr | How does early-life famine experience influence household energy transition? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How does early-life famine experience influence household energy transition? |
| title_short | How does early-life famine experience influence household energy transition? |
| title_sort | how does early life famine experience influence household energy transition |
| topic | Household energy transition Early-life famine experience Physical health Internet use China's great famine Cohort difference-in-differences approach |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023099164 |
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