Papers by Mohammad Kashour
Energy poverty constitutes a multifaceted challenge encountered by households worldwide. Given it... more Energy poverty constitutes a multifaceted challenge encountered by households worldwide. Given its intricate nature, the imperative to measure it entails the adoption of composite or multidimensional indices encompassing diverse indicators. Despite the comprehensive body of literature at the European level, most studies focus on assessing energy poverty within individual countries. Also, none of these studies have considered examining the causes and effects of energy poverty in their evaluation processes. In response, this research introduces a novel composite index that recognizes three fundamental drivers of energy poverty: high energy cost, poor energy efficiency, and low income, alongside three ensuing consequences: insufficient warmth within dwellings, energy arrears, and dwelling quality issues. The aim is to rank the Member States of the European Union (EU) using two criteria: solely the consequential factors and all factors collectively. By contrasting these two ranking criteria, the analysis identifies the Member States that exhibit significant differences in their standings. These states can be categorized as underperformers, denoting a significant capacity to address the issue yet exhibiting relatively higher levels, or overperformers, indicating a limited capacity to address the issue with relatively lower levels. The results underscore Czechia as an overperforming state and France as a significantly underperforming state, prompting a deeper exploration into the driving forces behind these variations. In this manner, the study introduces an approach to detect the root causes of energy poverty across EU Member States through a comparative lens.
Energy poverty constitutes a multifaceted challenge encountered by households worldwide. Given it... more Energy poverty constitutes a multifaceted challenge encountered by households worldwide. Given its intricate nature, the imperative to measure it entails the adoption of composite or multidimensional indices encompassing diverse indicators. Despite the comprehensive body of literature at the European level, most studies focus on assessing energy poverty within individual countries. Also, none of these studies have considered examining the causes and effects of energy poverty in their evaluation processes. In response, this research introduces a novel composite index that recognizes three fundamental drivers of energy poverty: high energy cost, poor energy efficiency, and low income, alongside three ensuing consequences: insufficient warmth within dwellings, energy arrears, and dwelling quality issues. The aim is to rank the Member States of the European Union (EU) using two criteria: solely the consequential factors and all factors collectively. By contrasting these two ranking criteria, the analysis identifies the Member States that exhibit significant differences in their standings. These states can be categorized as underperformers, denoting a significant capacity to address the issue yet exhibiting relatively higher levels, or overperformers, indicating a limited capacity to address the issue with relatively lower levels. The results underscore Czechia as an overperforming state and France as a significantly underperforming state, prompting a deeper exploration into the driving forces behind these variations. In this manner, the study introduces an approach to detect the root causes of energy poverty across EU Member States through a comparative lens.
Energy Policy
The conceptual and regulatory framework of the European just transition does not consider inequal... more The conceptual and regulatory framework of the European just transition does not consider inequality in household energy consumption. This study addresses the causes of this inequality across the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU) in the period 2010-2020 to contribute to its reduction. To identify these causes, the regression-based inequality decomposition approach is used. The results show that the variation in per capita gross domestic product (GDP), which contributes 38.76% to the inequality of household energy consumption, is the main cause of this inequality. Moreover, the average contribution of GDP per capita in the inequality of household energy consumption is almost negligible in the most developed states. In contrast, it is much higher in the least developed states, suggesting that decoupling between household energy consumption and economic development has not been achieved in all Member States. To promote a just transition to climate neutrality by 2050, the energy transition framework should therefore be broadened to help the least developed states achieve decoupling and align their energy consumption with that of the most developed states.
Green and Low-Carbon Economy
The energy crisis that began in the second half of 2021, exacerbated by the Russian-Ukrainian war... more The energy crisis that began in the second half of 2021, exacerbated by the Russian-Ukrainian war, created unexpected difficulty for European Union Member States in terms of shaping their energy policies. Hungary was one of the most vulnerable countries, whose economic development was fraught with severe risk due to the strong dependence on Russian energy sources and regulated energy prices for households, significantly slowing down the transition to green energy. The sharp change in energy prices due to the introduction of a price cap in 2013-2014 and the partial adjustment in 2022 draws attention to the situation of Hungarian energy demand. This study describes the absolute short-term price elasticities of Hungarian household natural gas and electricity demand and gas and electricity cross-price and income elasticities of the former for income deciles between 2010 and 2021 using the midpoint percentage method. The results show that electricity demand is more elastic than gas deman...
The conceptual and regulatory framework of the European just transition does not consider inequal... more The conceptual and regulatory framework of the European just transition does not consider inequality in household energy consumption. This study addresses the causes of this inequality across the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU) in the period 2010-2020 to contribute to its reduction. To identify these causes, the regression-based inequality decomposition approach is used. The results show that the variation in per capita gross domestic product (GDP), which contributes 38.76% to the inequality of household energy consumption, is the main cause of this inequality. Moreover, the average contribution of GDP per capita in the inequality of household energy consumption is almost negligible in the most developed states. In contrast, it is much higher in the least developed states, suggesting that decoupling between household energy consumption and economic development has not been achieved in all Member States. To promote a just transition to climate neutrality by 2050, the energy transition framework should therefore be broadened to help the least developed states achieve decoupling and align their energy consumption with that of the most developed states.
Price and Income Elasticities of Hungarian Household Energy Demand: Implications for Energy Policy in the Context of the Energy Crisis, 2023
The energy crisis that began in the second half of 2021, exacerbated by the Russian-Ukrainian war... more The energy crisis that began in the second half of 2021, exacerbated by the Russian-Ukrainian war, created unexpected difficulty for European Union Member States in terms of shaping their energy policies. Hungary was one of the most vulnerable countries, whose economic development was fraught with severe risk due to the strong dependence on Russian energy sources and regulated energy prices for households, significantly slowing down the transition to green energy. The sharp change in energy prices due to the introduction of a price cap in 2013-2014 and the partial adjustment in 2022 draws attention to the situation of Hungarian energy demand. This study describes the absolute short-term price elasticities of Hungarian household natural gas and electricity demand and gas and electricity cross-price and income elasticities of the former for income deciles between 2010 and 2021 using the midpoint percentage method. The results show that electricity demand is more elastic than gas demand, implying that Hungarian household consumers are more responsive to changes in electricity prices than those of gas. In addition, low-income Hungarian households are more sensitive to changes in both of the latter than high-income households, while no consistent pattern is identified in the relationship between income and energy demand. Accordingly, the study recommends the implementation of a multi-tariff pricing strategy based on the energy burden of the income deciles. This should particularly target the first two deciles, which are the most vulnerable and sensitive to energy price changes.
Regional statistics, 2023
This study aims to highlight the importance of human development in light of residential energy c... more This study aims to highlight the importance of human development in light of residential energy consumption and its relationship with energy efficiency. It investigates the influence of the human development indicator (HDI) on residential energy consumption inequality for the EU-27 Member States for the period of 2010-2018 by using the Gini coefficient. It also analyses the effect of the HDI components life expectancy, education, and gross national income (GNI) on residential energy use with the help of the least squares dummy variable (LSDV) model. The novel results indicate that territorial inequality in energy use would drop if all member states had the same HDI value. The LSDV model results show that life expectancy negatively influences energy consumption, the education index has no effect, and GNI shows a positive relationship. In addition, energy efficiency is found to exert a significant influence on human development on the basis of the energy efficiency scores for all member states. The results divide the member states into high, low, and average groups according to their energy efficiency scores and HDI values. Through this classification, this study provides policy recommendations for each group.
Theory, methodology, practice /, 2022
This paper examines the roots of the European energy crisis within the period of 2021-2022, the r... more This paper examines the roots of the European energy crisis within the period of 2021-2022, the reasons for the European gas shortage, the effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the potential EU responses. The current crisis is a result of several factors, starting from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and amplified severely by the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In addition, five reasons were identified as worsening the EU energy situation. These include market-based gas prices, external dependency, global imbalances, the EU's climate policies, and low European energy stocks. The Russian invasion of Ukraine put pressure on the oil and gas supplies to the EU. This situation led the EU to introduce sanctions and measures that target increasing the share of renewable energy while reducing the dependence on Russian gas. Finally, we shed light on the energy transition as an opportunity to deal with climate change and limited energy resources while also showing the challenges that would hinder a just transition.
Changing European Energy Policy – The Challenge of the Energy Price Storm, 2022
This paper examines the roots of the European energy crisis within the period of 2021-2022, the r... more This paper examines the roots of the European energy crisis within the period of 2021-2022, the reasons for the European gas shortage, the effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the potential EU responses. The current crisis is a result of several factors, starting from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and amplified severely by the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In addition, five reasons were identified as worsening the EU energy situation. These include market-based gas prices, external dependency, global imbalances, the EU's climate policies, and low European energy stocks. The Russian invasion of Ukraine put pressure on the oil and gas supplies to the EU. This situation led the EU to introduce sanctions and measures that target increasing the share of renewable energy while reducing the dependence on Russian gas. Finally, we shed light on the energy transition as an opportunity to deal with climate change and limited energy resources while also showing the challenges that would hinder a just transition.
Regional Statistics, 2023
This study aims to highlight the importance of human development in light of residential energy c... more This study aims to highlight the importance of human development in light of residential energy consumption and its relationship with energy efficiency. It investigates the influence of the human development indicator (HDI) on residential energy consumption inequality for the EU-27 Member States for the period of 2010–2018 by using the Gini coefficient. It also analyses the effect of the HDI components life expectancy, education, and gross national income (GNI) on residential energy use with the help of the least squares dummy variable (LSDV) model. The novel results indicate that territorial inequality in energy use would drop if all member states had the same HDI value. The LSDV model results show that life expectancy negatively influences energy consumption, the education index has no effect, and GNI shows a positive relationship. In addition, energy efficiency is found to exert a significant influence on human development on the basis of the energy efficiency scores for all member states. The results divide the member states into high, low, and average groups according to their energy efficiency scores and HDI values. Through this classification, this study provides policy recommendations for each group.
Regional Statistics, 2023
This study aims to highlight the importance of human development in light of residential energy c... more This study aims to highlight the importance of human development in light of residential energy consumption and its relationship with energy efficiency. It investigates the influence of the human development indicator (HDI) on residential energy consumption inequality for the EU-27 Member States for the period of 2010–2018 by using the Gini coefficient. It also analyses the effect of the HDI components life expectancy, education, and gross national income (GNI) on residential energy use with the help of the least squares dummy variable (LSDV) model. The novel results indicate that territorial inequality in energy use would drop if all member states had the same HDI value. The LSDV model results show that life expectancy negatively influences energy consumption, the education index has no effect, and GNI shows a positive relationship. In addition, energy efficiency is found to exert a significant influence on human development on the basis of the energy efficiency scores for all member states. The results divide the member states into high, low, and average groups according to their energy efficiency scores and HDI values. Through this classification, this study provides policy recommendations for each group.
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Papers by Mohammad Kashour