Non-agricultural employment, family separation and energy poverty: evidence from rural China

Purpose This study combines the Energy Ladder and Family Altruism Theory to analyze the impact of non-agricultural employment and family separation on energy poverty, and combines the Oprobit model and CMP estimation to explore the effects of non-agricultural employment and family separation on non-agricultural employment while controlling for endogeneity. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzes the impact of non-agricultural employment and family separation on rural household energy poverty by utilizing data from the Chinese Family Panel Study (CFPS) and employing the Oprobit Model and Conditional Mixed Process Estimation. Findings (1) Non-agricultural employment significantly alleviates rural energy poverty; (2) Spatial and intergenerational family separation weakens the mitigating effect of non-agricultural employment on energy poverty; (3) Income plays an intermediary role in the impact of non-agricultural employment on energy poverty, but family spatial separation also weakens the intermediary role of income. Originality/value Firstly, this study reveals that the household separation and left-behind problems caused by non-agricultural employment in China has resulted in a loss of efficiency in improving energy welfare through non-agricultural employment. Secondly, in terms of research methodology, by using the conditional mixed process (CMP) estimation method, we controlled for endogeneity between non-agricultural employment and energy poverty, to obtain more accurate conclusions.