The nexus between energy poverty, social capital and well-being in Gauteng, South Africa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3051/2025/v36i1a19851Keywords:
multidimensional energy poverty index, subjective energy poverty, sense of belonging, community trust, political trust, income level, life satisfaction indexAbstract
The paper reports on an investigation into the impact of energy poverty and social capital on well-being, comparing individuals from below- and above-poverty line households. A multidimensional energy poverty index (MEPI) was constructed using a generalised structural equation modelling approach to measure the effect of energy poverty on well-being. We found that that higher levels of energy poverty, measured objectively as an MEPI, or subjectively as energy satisfaction, affected well-being negatively, while higher levels of social capital increased well-being. However, the effects varied by household income: MEPI only had a negative effect on well-being for low-income household respondents, and subjective energy poverty only had a negative effect on low-income and middle-income household respondents. Similarly, social capital’s impact varied by household income: for both groups, the strongest source of higher well-being was a sense of belonging, whereas the impact of political trust was stronger for higher-income groups. The findings suggest that policies which decrease energy poverty would improve well-being, but should take into account specific household and community characteristics. Further, fostering neighbourhood social capital is essential, especially for the poorest of the poor.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Alan Dixon Brown, Jeong Hwan Bae, Dmitriy Li, Juhee Jeong
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