Status: Published
**Citation:**Bistline J. 2023. Household Environmental Kuznets Curves: Evidence from Passenger Transport Emissions. Published in *ECONOMICS OF ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY 12:*2. doi.org/10.1016/j.egycc.2023.100104
Passenger vehicles are an increasing share of emissions and energy consumption, and links between household income and the share of emissions and energy use may be important to understand both as a predictor of behavioral response to the drivers of decarbonization and to anticipate the impacts of decarbonization and transport electrification on individual households and the entire vehicle fleet. This analysis, a peer-reviewed journal article published in Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy uses microdata from the U.S. National Household Travel Survey and a least squares regression model to evaluation the relationship between household income, driving intensity, and emissions intensity on absolute emissions across income classes. This study finds that lowest income households have higher emissions intensities and fewer miles traveled than the highest income households, which drive more fuel-efficient vehicles but offset their advantages in fuel economy by driving as much as three times more than the lowest income households. These factors indicate that as electrification progresses, we may see a faster decoupling of emissions and total miles traveled from higher income households who may be quicker to adopt electric vehicles. Policy interventions that address income inequality may have countervailing effects on emissions as households with higher incomes may increase driving intensity but also have more access to available low emissions technologies.
Link to Journal Publication: Econonomics of Energy and Environmental Policy (iaee.org)