Analysing energy poverty in Spain

Abstract

In this thesis we study energy poverty in Spain both at the level of concept and reality, using the Spanish family budgets survey for the year 2010. First we introduce the phenomenon of energy poverty analysing lightly its underlying complexity. Then, based on a counting approach, we propose an overall indicator able to measure the energy poverty aggregating four simple indicators of a different nature, two of them based on expenditure or another two consensual based ones. Once we have defined our new indicator, we show the results on three phases. In the first one, we present a descriptive analysis on the four base indicators, followed by an analysis of the Counting Approach. And ending with a regressive analysis of both binomial outcome where we determine if the household is poor or not and the Counting Approach score. With the idea of showing the covariates that are relevant when determining whether or not a household is energy poor, and an analysis of the determinants for checking the determinants of being at one level and another of deprivation within the counting approach, respectively. As a final point we explain the Spanish social bonus, jointly with its application criteria and its amount, as well as a small critique of its application criteria.