Staying cool and wellbeing outcomes: An analysis of Australian social housing

Crawford School of Public Policy
Photo by Douglas Paul Perkins on Wikimedia Commons

Event details

PhD Seminar (Econ)

Date & time

Friday 04 March 2022
11.00am–12.00pm

Venue

Online via Zoom

Speaker

Mara Hammerle

By how much does access to indoor cooling increase wellbeing in socioeconomically disadvantaged households? This paper focuses on installations of energy-efficient reverse cycle air-conditioners (RCACs) delivered to public housing properties by the energy retailer ActewAGL. The analysis is based on a survey of 283 residents carried out in March–April 2021. Using factor analysis followed by linear regressions and an instrumental variables approach, we find a positive and significant impact on measures of health and housing suitability. We find that households with RCACs increased their spending on summer-time electricity use compared to control households.

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