Rising US Income Inequality and Declining Residential Electricity Consumption: Is There a Link?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Linn, Joshua; Liang, Jing; Qiu, Yueming (Lucy)
• 署名单位: University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park; Princeton University
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01387
• 发表日期: 2026
• 关键词: energy-consumption; EFFICIENCY; elasticity; demand

摘要

After growing steadily for decades, average U.S. household energy consumption began declining in the mid-2000s. Using household-level data from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey and Current Population Survey between 1990 and 2020, we decompose overall changes in per household consumption into three components: average income, cross-household income distribution, and consumption habits, which include energy efficiency. Growth of average income caused consumption to increase by 11%, and rising income inequality reduced consumption by 8%, nearly entirely offsetting the effect of income growth. Changes in habits also reduced consumption. Back-of-the-envelope calculations indicate an unexpected effect of rising income inequality: climate and air quality improvements valued at $9 billion in 2020 due to lower electricity consumption. The results indicate the importance of coordinating policies that address inequality and pollution.