The effects of energy accessibility on income inequality in Latin America and Caribbean countries

12/04/2023

This thesis explores the intricate relationship between energy access and income inequality, focusing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7 (clean energy access) and 10 (reducing income inequality). The focus is on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) nations that experience disparities in energy access and income inequality. Lack of access to modern energy services, often prevalent in marginalised communities, hampers well-being, health, and economic prospects. Data from six LAC countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Honduras) between 2000 and 2019 is analysed using a Fixed Effects multiple linear regression (OLS) model, correlation analysis, and Granger causality tests. The results reveal that the link between GDP per capita and income inequality varies across countries, being responsible for increasing disparities in some of them and reducing them in others. At the same time, Granger causality tests demonstrate that energy-related factors, like electricity and clean cooking fuel access, can mitigate income disparities in the six LAC nations studied, but the impact is country-specific. This thesis emphasises the potential of clean energy access in income inequality reduction and offers recommendations to policymakers and stakeholders. Despite focusing on LAC countries, these findings have broader implications for other middle-income countries. It also underscores that strategies to diminish income inequality through enhanced energy access must be tailored to each country's unique context.

Authors in the community:

• 

  K

  Karen Rodrigues Villarroel

  ist1104078

Supervisors of this institution:

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  M

  Margarida Catalão Lopes

  ist14105

• 

  I

  Inês Isabel Carrilho Nunes

  ist423260

other-engineering-and-technologies - Other engineering and technologies

eng - English

Instituto Superior Técnico