Rossella Bardazzi

A large body of literature has developed numerous unidimensional and multidimensional indicators to identify energy-poor households, also with the aim of targeting public policies. They all have pros and cons and may identify different populations. How do they relate to each other? How should they be used in a country such as Italy where energy poverty has not yet been officially defined? We frame these research questions in a context of general social vulnerability in which several dimensions of poverty intersect. Using SILC data (EU and IT modules) for the period 2004–2015 we compare four widely used unidimensional indicators and provide evidence—for the Italian case—that complementarity among the indicators prevails since the complexity of energy poverty requires a combination of metrics to capture various vulnerabilities. Our results confirm the set of relevant factors affecting the probability of being energy poor which are indicated in the related economics literature, regardless of which indicator is used. They may help tailor policies to tackle the phenomenon. Based on these findings, we strongly support the idea of using a dashboard of different metrics to measure energy poverty to design effective policies.

Energy transitions are multi-dimensional and multi-actor processes involving technical systems, social networks and societal institutions and regimes (Sovacool and Geels, Energy Research & Social Science 22:232–237, 2016). Interactions between firms, households, policymakers and social bodies are at the core of the shift from one energy system to another. This nexus of interactions is even more important to be analysed when considering the current energy transition towards decarbonization, which is mainly policy-driven rather than social- or technology-driven.

Structural changes in the population are bound to be intertwined with the energy transition in determining the evolution of household energy consumption. Most countries are characterized by shrinking total population, very fast ageing and smaller family size. These demographic shifts could enlarge the group of vulnerable individuals who are suffering for energy poverty. Being a single parent or living alone, having an increasing number of elderly or individuals with specific needs related to illness and disability in the family, significantly increases the chances of facing energy poverty. When studying the drivers of future energy demand, demographic shifts represent a crucial factor although they are usually overlooked in the estimated long-run projections of energy use which mainly takes into account only the population size. In this chapter, we summarize how demographic change is interlinked with energy transition with an analysis of the main issues related to changes in the composition and the age structure of the population and their effects on the future paths of energy consumption in Italy. Then we focus on the vulnerability of the elderly and on its main specific drivers as the affordability of energy expenditures and the energy efficiency of buildings and equipment. Moreover, we briefly look at the consequences of limited access to energy services on the social activities of the ageing population. Finally, price and income elasticity estimations add further evidence on the role of age and generation in household energy consumption. These findings are relevant in understanding how the expected structural demographic changes may affect the future trend of energy poverty.

Developing countries are advancing towards universal energy access with high fertility rates and young population. Socio-demographic and economic evolutions will influence future energy consumption patterns. Herein, we use Mexico as a case study to estimate determinants of residential electricity consumption as well as the importance that a shift in generational preferences has on such energy demand. We build an original pseudo-panel of Mexican households to separately estimate generational and age effects on the use of electricity. Our findings are in line with the few studies performed for developed countries, but the magnitudes are four times stronger. This means that, as they grow older, younger generations in Mexico increase their electricity consumption at a much faster rate than in developed countries. This may represent a significant obstacle in the way of meeting future energy demand, particularly in the context of the energy transition.

International trade has improved living standards but has also become a major channel for spreading shocks on a global scale. The increasing relevance of intersectoral linkages and trade in intermediates renewed interest in input–output techniques. This paper enriches the literature on empirical trade models with an input–output/econometric approach including substitution effects and price spillovers. Our model shows that (a) trade elasticities and bilateral shares are not constant in time and differ across sectors and countries; (b) international price changes alter the relative competitiveness between competitors; (c) final demand components such as consumption and investment react to changes in international prices. Large multi-country shocks produce feedback effects in national economies as they adapt by import substitution across exporters, by changing the import content of domestic production and by adjusting final demand. These feedbacks affect the global demand producing an asymmetric non-zero-sum game.

The Eurozone crisis has exposed several weaknesses of the European Monetary Union economies. This paper aims to assess the impact on external competitiveness of an expansionary capital stock policy that could contribute to reduce the trade balance asymmetries within the EU and help European exporters to recover their competitive role in international markets. A policy action to increase capital stock accumulation through investment in selected European countries could generate a double dividend: increasing both price and nonprice competitiveness, so stimulating their competitive position as exporters, and consolidating the growth path of EU economy. The analysis employs a bilateral trade model built at INFORUM with several distinguishing characteristics: a comprehensive bilateral data set, econometric estimation of key parameters, and emphasis on sectoral details. Our findings show that a capital stock increase is effective in narrowing trade imbalances within EU. Heterogeneous effects are estimated for commodities in China and the US.

Various theories suggest the existence of a negative relationship between the use of atypical employment contracts and productivity growth, arguing that firms’ utilisation of atypical contracts may reduce the incentive to innovate and internal training, inducing firms to follow a ‘low-road’ to competitiveness, based upon cost-cutting strategies. This paper aims to provide new evidence on the occurrence of these effects in the Italian economy, where changes in labour legislation from the mid-Nineties onwards, associated with an ‘institutional’ wage moderation period, have brought about a significant process of job creation, but also an appreciable slowdown in labour productivity. This issue is investigated using a microeconomic approach, taking a rich source of microdata for firms and estimating a dynamic model for labour productivity on a pseudo-panel of firms for the period 2003-2008. The results support the hypothesis of a negative impact of external labour flexibility on labour productivity growth at firm level, such effect proving stronger for small and medium than for large enterprises and of varying magnitude for the different atypical contracts.