What improves subjective welfare during energy transition? Evidence from the clean heating program in china

Household energy transition is beneficial to the environment and public health. However, the subjective welfare of the participants is not guaranteed to be improved. This paper takes China's clean heating program as an example of household energy transition and investigates the factors that affect participants' satisfaction with the program. Based on a large-scale household survey in Beijing, we find that the households' evaluation of indoor temperature, air quality, cleanliness, heating convenience, and safety is positive overall, but there is substantial heterogeneity in opinions, program implementation, and household characteristics. Utilizing econometric models, we further find that (1) thermal insulation of the home can improve subjective evaluation of warmth; (2) more advanced heating technology and lower cost of equipment acquisition are associated with higher satisfaction; (3) providing information to households results in more positive evaluation of the program, while enforcing the program as a mandate reduces households' satisfaction; and (4) higher-income households are more likely to give the program a higher evaluation. Based on these findings, follow-up policies could promote thermal insulation, increase equipment subsidies for low-income groups, and relax strict mandates. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.