Many governments still help to keep fossil fuels cheap - sometimes by directly paying part of the supply cost (explicit subsidies), and at other times by not including the hidden costs of pollution and health problems they cause in their price (implicit subsidies). But what is the true cost to...

This paper estimates the effect of electricity prices on firm performance, focusing on firm productivity, sales, and employment. Using the World Bank Business Pulse Survey data for a sample of 24 emerging markets and developing economies during 2019-23, the paper estimates the average effect and...

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered an energy crisis in Germany, with consumer energy prices skyrocketing over the course of the year. Due to concerns about gas shortages, various programs aimed at reducing consumption were set up and the German Federal Government and numerous...

The energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exposed the heightened vulnerability of low-income households to rising heating costs, particularly those in energy inefficient buildings. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), this study examines the distributional...

Oil price increases that began in late 2020 led to a global proliferation of liquid fuel subsidies and price controls as governments tried to reduce, redistribute, or delay the impact of rising and volatile energy prices on consumers. This paper draws on a unique database to analyze the...

This 2024 edition of the energy prices and costs report follows a period of exceptional turbulence on global and European energy markets since 2020. The sustained period of high energy prices has had, and despite prices returning towards pre-crisis levels, continues to have, serious implications...

The EU has consistently tackled the challenge of energy poverty (EP) through various legislative and non-legislative measures, particularly in the context of ongoing energy crisis, but it should also support the reduction of income inequality that might accelerate EP. The aim of this study is to...

Through facilitating direct energy transfer between producers and consumers and lowering intermediary expenses, peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading presents notable advantages for individual prosumers. Moreover, peerto-peer trading permits proactive consumers to economically conduct their energy...

This handbook focuses on the various steps in the diagnosis phase, providing a detailed description of each step. It is of primary importance to take adequate time to understand the challenges and to design a response. A robust diagnosis will allow you to answer the most relevant questions when...

This handbook focuses on the various steps in the diagnosis phase, providing a detailed description of each step. It is of primary importance to take adequate time to understand the challenges and to design a response. A robust diagnosis will allow you to answer the most relevant questions when...

We examine how rising energy costs affect rental housing markets and inequality. Using listing data for the 30 largest German cities from 2015–2024, we find that higher energy prices are passed through to net rents in high-rent segments, where inefficient properties see significant rent...

Leveraging data from the European Investment Survey (EIBIS) spanning 2019-2022, encompassing the pandemic crisis and the 2022 energy price shocks, our study investigates how uncertainty influence firms' climate action investment decisions in Europe at a time of one of the largest energy shocks...

This study investigates how credit to firms responds to an energy price shock by comparing the credit growth of similar firms with different energy intensities before and after the shock triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Credit growth of energy-intensive firms declined by 8.75...

Since China implemented its carbon trading mechanism, trading risks arising from unstable carbon prices have significantly reduced its emission-reduction efficiency. Unlike traditional research, which focuses on the impact of fossil fuels on carbon prices, this study emphasises risk spillovers...

Real-time and time-of-use electricity pricing is based on the premise that consumers reduce demand when prices are high. In this paper, we test this assumption empirically using a large, high-frequency smart meter dataset from Denmark, estimating the short-run (hourly) price elasticity of...

Energy poverty (hereinafter referred to as EP), as a new type of poverty, is an important challenge affecting energy availability and energy equity, which will lead to multiple deprivation-poverty effects, including economic, social, and ecological. In this paper, a time-varying DID model is...

Recent global crises, such as COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine War, have accelerated efforts to reduce dependency to fossil fuels due to soaring prices. This research aims to identify the key factors such as climate, electricity and gas price, GDP, renewable energy use, population and COVID-19...

The aim of this study was to analyse energy subsidies and other financial support distributed in the EU27, at the national level, over the period 2015 to 2022 and, when data is available, to 2023. Quantitative analyses of the volume (in euros) and trends of subsidies are provided, with the...

The aim of this study was to analyse energy subsidies and other financial support distributed in the EU27, at the national level, over the period 2015 to 2022 and, when data is available, to 2023. Quantitative analyses of the volume (in euros) and trends of subsidies are provided, with the...

Energy inflation is a major source of headline inflation volatility and forecast errors, therefore it is critical to model it accurately. This paper introduces a novel suite of Bayesian VAR models for euro area HICP energy inflation, which adopts a granular, bottom-up approach - disaggregating...

The study explores the concept of energy poverty and vulnerability within the German context, emphasizing the impact of rising energy costs and low energy efficiency of buildings on energy poor or vulnerable households. Vulnerability, in this setting, refers to the risk households face due to...

Carbon pricing is becoming increasingly common but raises equity concerns and is frequently perceived as putting higher burdens on the poor than the rich. This chapter discusses the reasons for unequal carbon price burdens across countries and population groups, through the lens of a comparative...

Since 2022, in almost every inflation category, a strong divergence in price dynamics among the EU countries has become visible. The first aim of this paper is to assess the impact of changes in energy prices on the differentiation in price dynamics in individual inflation categories in EU...

The expansion of heat pumps drives the electrification of the heating sector which is important to achieve Germany's ambitious climate targets. This paper examines the impact of heat pumps in combination with thermal storage on the flexibility of the German electricity system in 2030, focusing...

This study examines the static market and welfare effects of splitting the German bidding zone, comparing a two-zone and a three-zone configuration for a 2030 scenario. Using a state-of-the-art grid and market model with explicit representation of frictions in flow-based market coupling and...

Within the transition to climate-neutral energy systems, hydrogen has the potential to support decarbonization of multiple sectors. Just like in electricity markets, volatility in hydrogen supply and process-specific demand may lead to volatile prices in a hydrogen market. This volatility may...

This paper studies the effects of country-specific energy prices on food consumer price inflation (CPI) within a cross-country Phillips curve framework. It considers a panel of 36 OECD member and candidate economies using quarterly data from the start of 1994 to the end of 2021. We find that...

This paper identifies electricity supply shocks by exploiting the fact that variations in wind speed at turbine locations are exogenous with respect to macroeconomic outcomes and drive electricity prices in European wholesale markets inframarginally. Instrumenting electricity price changes with...

Governments around the world are under pressure to reduce industrial energy use and emissions without losing out to international competition. For this reason, climate policies often come with exemptions or additional support for large energyintensive firms, increasing the heterogeneity in...