SETI Media

A central challenge in the global transition to cleaner energy is how governments can design policies that deliver large social benefits while facing trade-offs in energy security, fiscal costs, and household adoption frictions. Authors study this question in urban Nepal, where cooking is dominated by imported LPG, but abundant hydropower makes both large-scale electrification and improved energy security feasible. Using detailed survey and electricity billing data, they find substitution away from LPG toward electricity, with meaningful household heterogeneity. Disciplined by these experimental estimates, the model evaluates counterfactual targeting rules, and estimates optimal subsidy levels under different macroeconomic conditions.

The Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative (SETI) invites submissions of research manuscripts, extended abstracts, and policy session proposals for its Tenth Annual Workshop.

The Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative (SETI) invites submissions of papers and extended abstracts for its Ninth Annual Workshop, scheduled to be held virtually via Zoom from June 18-19, 2024.

Jan Steckel discusses political economy research to understand the non-economic drivers of global coal transition.

Sied Hassen discusses experiments to understand willingness to pay for cookstoves and solar lights in Ethiopia.