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Australia has among the highest rates of small-scale solar photovoltaic adoption in the world, with substantial geographical variation in uptake. Using postcode-level data up to December 2018, we quantify the impact of Australia's spatially-differentiated Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme on solar uptake. We use spatial autoregressive models and other approaches such as a regression discontinuity design. The results indicate that postcodes receiving a higher subsidy factor have significantly more small-scale solar installations, after controlling for solar exposure and spatial patterns in the data. The subsidy elasticity of small-scale solar capacity installations during 2018 was around 1.2. We use this estimate to calculate that an increase in the subsidy flowing to new installations would be able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at a subsidy cost of around US$36 per tonne, depending on assumptions.

This paper quantifies factors affecting energy-related financial stress in Australia, a key economic challenge facing a minority of households. We find that low net wealth is a particularly important factor affecting difficulty in paying energy bills. Having insulation reduces reported difficulties in being able to heat and cool homes. The odds of not paying energy bills on time are doubled by households not having solar panels. Other important factors contributing to energy-related financial stress include being a renter, being a mortgage holder, having a large number of occupants in a household, and having a resident who requires energy-consuming medical equipment.

Australia is a world leader in household uptake of solar photovoltaic systems. In this paper, we use household-level data to identify economic, social, and environmental factors that influence actual uptake and the intention to install. We find that higher net wealth is generally associated with higher likelihood to install. Households that have mortgages, that spend more on electricity, and that pay higher average electricity prices are more likely to intend to install. Environmental preferences and related behaviours, property tenure, and space constraints are associated with both actual uptake and intention to install. We use data from the Survey of Income and Housing of 2015-16 and the Household Energy Consumption Survey of 2012.

Recent years have seen a spike in New Zealand’s road death toll, a phenomenon also seen in some other countries such as Australia. This paper analyses the short-run impact of fuel prices on road accident outcomes in New Zealand, including the numbers of road deaths, accidents, and injuries. Using data for the period 1989–2017, we find a negative relationship between fuel prices and key road-risk outcome variables, including the number of road deaths. There are similar results for models in levels and first differences. The number of serious injuries to cyclists tends to increase when fuel prices are high, however. Lower fuel prices appear to have contributed to New Zealand’s recent uptick in road accidents, pushing against the long-term trend of improved road safety.

In this paper, we use the synthetic control method to estimate the macroeconomic losses from the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, one of the most severe natural disasters in the modern era. The macroeconomic effects of the earthquake were equal to an average loss of up to 12% of gross domestic product over the period 2010–2015. While surges in imports and foreign aid supported a temporary increase in aggregate consumption, aggregate investment and services sector output experienced large contractions. The road transport sector was severely affected. Impacts on electricity use have been less pronounced. The data suggest that macroeconomic losses may be permanent. The earthquake is thus a case of an extreme natural disaster contributing to divergence in development outcomes.

Around one-third of Australia’s coal-fired power stations closed between 2012 and 2017, with most of the remainder expected to close over coming decades. Current investment in generation capacity is primarily in the form of alternative power, especially wind and solar. In this paper, we conduct an event study to assess the local unemployment effects of Australia’s coal-fired power station closures, an issue of considerable interest given the prominence of coal-fired power stations in local economies. Our analysis uses monthly regional labour force survey data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. We find that on average there has been an increase in local unemployment of around 0.7 percentage points after closures of coal-fired power stations, an effect that tends to persist beyond the months immediately after closures. The findings raise questions about appropriate policy responses for dealing with local structural adjustment issues facing coal-reliant communities.

We investigate if greater electricity availability helps countries ascend to faster economic growth trajectories. This is an important question for many developing countries that are currently prioritizing infrastructure investments. Using cross-sectional and panel regressions with national-level decadal data, we find some evidence that electricity availability has a significant effect on subsequent economic growth. However, much of the effect disappears once suitable controls are included. We examine various dimensions of electricity availability, including electricity consumption quantity, generation capacity, residential access rate, and quality of electricity supply. It appears that electricity availability is best viewed as something that can be scaled up as economies grow rather than something that imposes binding constraints on subsequent economic growth.

This paper analyzes the roles of policies and preferences in national adoption of solar and wind energy technologies. We use cross-sectional and panel regressions for both the European Union and a broader international sample. We find that countries that price carbon emissions have gone on to adopt more solar and wind energy. The aggregate level of policy support, measured in euros per megawatt hour, appears to have been important for solar energy adoption. We also find that solar energy adoption has been larger in countries with higher proportions of people concerned about climate change. In addition, we assess the effects of other key explanators including financial system size and income levels.

Electricity is a vital factor underlying modern living standards, but there are many developing countries with low levels of electricity access and use. We seek to systematically identify the crucial elements underlying transitions toward greater electrification in developing countries. We use a cross-sectional regression approach with national-level data up to 2012 for 135 low- and middle-income countries. The paper finds that the effectiveness of governments is the most important governance attribute for encouraging the transition to increased electrification in developing countries, on average. The results add to the growing evidence on the importance of governance for development outcomes. Donors seeking to make more successful contributions to electrification may wish to target countries with more effective governments.

Does a country's stock of financial capital affect its ability to achieve energy transitions? This paper uses data for up to 137 countries for the period 1998–2013 to investigate the importance of financial capital for changes in the use of each energy type. I find that financial capital supports transition to more capital-intensive energy types. For high-income countries, financial capital facilitates transitions from fossil fuels to modern renewable energy sources, especially wind. Both private credit from banks and domestic private debt securities support greater shares of wind energy. For lower-income countries, financial capital supports progression from biomass towards fossil fuel energy sources such as coal. I also find that countries with larger stocks of financial capital are more likely to move to more capital-intensive electricity generation systems.