A0805
Title: Assessing the targeting effectiveness of fiscal incentives toward energy-poor families
Authors: Leo Fulvio Minervini - University of Macerata (Italy) [presenting]
Alfonso Carfora - (Italy)
Abstract: Many EU countries have established long-term tax incentive renovation strategies to support the renovation of their national building stock in line with their national energy and climate plans. Among these countries, Italy offers the most generous incentives. Using the latest data on Italian household expenditure and other socio-demographic characteristics collected by the Household Budget Survey led by ISTAT, the aim is to contribute to the ongoing debate surrounding the efficacy of these incentives in reducing energy poverty. The empirical analysis carried out using a non-parametric counterfactual approach, assesses the impact of fiscal incentives on a subset of four expanded household energy poverty indicators, which are commonly used both in the scientific literature and as official government measures. The evidence, first highlighted by the descriptive analysis and then confirmed by the causal inference perspective through the matching approach, shows a lower prevalence of energy poverty among households that have incurred renovation expenses compared to those that have not. This result indicates that households incurring renovation expenditures, all other conditions being equal, experience a lower average energy poverty condition. Therefore, in this political phase, with significant debate on the effectiveness of current fiscal incentives and pressure to reduce them, our study can help policymakers allocate resources more effectively towards households.
