Targeted cash transfers vs universal price subsidies
Policy persistence and cost-effectiveness in EU energy poverty (2015–2024)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21451183 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hasan Tutar (0000-0001-8383-1464, Istanbul Beykent University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences), Caner ERDEN (0000-0002-7311-862X, Sakarya University of Applied Sciences Department of Computer Engineering) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-22 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-20 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0144-333X • E-ISSN: 1758-6720 |
| Publisher | Emerald (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1108/ijssp-01-2026-0043 |
| OpenAlex | W7154724471 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 35 |
Purpose This study compares the effectiveness of targeted cash transfers and universal price subsidies in reducing energy poverty across the EU-27 (2015–2024). It evaluates impacts on household energy affordability, persistence of outcomes, and cost-effectiveness under high energy burden and market volatility. Design/methodology/approach We construct a country-year panel and estimate multi-period difference-in-differences models with staggered adoption. Outcomes use a sign-reversed, country-standardized EU-SILC indicator (“unable to keep home adequately warm”), where higher values denote improvement. Event-time dynamics, mediation (price pass-through), and heterogeneity across burden levels are examined. Findings Average treatment effects are imprecise; however, event-time profiles indicate more persistent improvements following targeted transfers. Mediation results show limited retail price pass-through, consistent with preserved price signals. Heterogeneity analyses reveal stronger gains in high-burden contexts under targeting, while universal subsidies display less stable and less durable effects. Persistence-adjusted cost-effectiveness favors targeted transfers. Originality/value This paper provides the first EU-wide, decade-long comparison of targeted versus universal energy poverty policies, integrating persistence-adjusted cost-effectiveness with mediation and distributional analyses, and supports a “cash-first” policy orientation
Cash · Cash transfers · Energy poverty · Mediation · Persistence (discontinuity) · Poverty · Subsidy · Energy and Environment Impacts · Energy, Environment, Economic Growth · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance
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| Highly cited | No |
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