Exploring rural energy choice from the perspective of multi-dimensional capabilities: Evidence from photovoltaic anti-poverty areas in rural China

Abstract

Energy is an important link between development and climate change, and access to and use of clean energy is essential for poverty alleviation and sustainable development. This paper, using survey data of 1112 poor households, the multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI) and logit model, investigates the MPI and the impacts of poverty depth and capability deprivation on energy choice based on the perspective of multi-dimensional poverty in the photovoltaic poverty alleviation projects (PPAP) areas. The findings include that: (1) the poverty depth has a decreasing trend and the MPI drops sharply in the study areas; (2) most of the dimensions included in the government’s evaluation criteria of poverty alleviation are improved greatly, but sanitation facility and employment remain to be the two major challenges; (3) the higher poverty depth, the more probability of using solid energy and the less probability of using clean energy; (4) with deprivation of employment and house condition, the probability of using solid energy will increase and the probability of using clean energy will decrease; (5) households deprived of education, sanitation, waste disposal, and electricity are less likely to use clean energy, and households deprived of social security, safe drinking water, road and training are more likely to use solid energy. Finally, we discuss the implications for policymakers in designing poverty eradication strategies and the potential directions for future studies.