In this paper we discuss a number of ways to define and measure the affordability of energy consumption, and we examine the emergence of fuel poverty in Italy in the period from 1998 to 2011. The paper examines the eligibility criteria for claiming the benefits available to support energy...

We present an agent-based model of a multi-tier energy market including gas shippers, electricity generators and retailers. We show how reward interdependence between strategic business units within a vertically integrated firm can increase its profits in oligopolistic energy markets. The...

Requiring energy efficiency building codes raises housing prices (or the monthly rental equivalent), but theoretically this effect might be fully offset by reductions in household energy expenditures. Whether there is a full compensating differential or how much households are paying implicitly...

Expenditure on environmentally sensitive goods and services has been analysed for the member states of the EEC, using the EUROSTAT Family Budgets data based on surveys carried out in 1988. Some data are also available from Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. The groups with low...

Male passerine bird song is a classic example of a sexually selected display. Theory predicts that such displays should be costly, but there are few empirical data on the potential costs of bird song. We measured the rate of oxygen consumption by male pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca,...

This paper examines the relationship between residential buildings׳ energy efficiency labels and household energy expenditure, complementing an existing literature comparing theoretical and actual energy use. Residential building energy performance certificates indicate a theoretical energy use...

The global food price shock of 2006-2008 has particularly affected poorer strata of populations in several developing countries. In Egypt and some other countries it has put food subsidy schemes to the test. This paper develops two comparable computable general equilibrium models for Egypt and...

We employ a latent class model to assess the impact of Mexico's Seguro Popular ("SP") program on the number of prenatal visits in a cross-sectional sample of 4,381 women who gave birth during 2002-2005. We specify an ordered probit model to permit a pregnant woman's probability of membership in...

This paper investigates the extent to which cross-country differences in aggregate participation rates can be explained by divergence in tax-benefit systems. We take the example of two countries, the Czech Republic and Hungary, which – despite a lot of similarities – differ...