Adult children's education and elderly parents' energy poverty: Evidence from China

This paper investigates the intergenerational impact of adult children's education on elderly parents' energy poverty. Utilizing data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), we find that higher levels of children's education significantly reduce parents' energy poverty. Our results are robust across various measures of energy poverty and children's education. To address the issue of endogeneity, we employ China's Compulsory Education Law as an instrumental variable for children's education. Heterogeneity tests show that the reduction effect is more pronounced in rural areas compared to urban areas, in families with male children relative to those with female children, in parents with lower levels of education, and in regions with higher educational quality. Intergenerational financial transfers, the digital divide, and social capital are identified as three potential underlying mechanisms through which children's education affects parents' energy poverty. These findings offer a new perspective on the driving forces behind energy poverty, underscoring the significance of intergenerational effects. • CFPS data shows higher education levels of adult children significantly reduce parents' energy poverty. • To address endogeneity, we use China's Compulsory Education Law as an instrumental variable for children's education. • The effect is stronger in rural areas, families with sons, less-educated parents, and regions with better education quality. • Financial transfers, the digital divide, and social capital are key mechanisms linking children's education to energy poverty. • Expanding education, subsidies for vulnerable households, and energy poverty awareness in curricula can help alleviate energy poverty.