ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1524444
This article is part of the Research TopicEnvironmental degradation, health, and socioeconomic impactsView all 17 articles
Can household clean energy transition reduce medical expenditures? Evidence from China
Provisionally accepted
- 1qingdao university, Qindao, China
- 2Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
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Indoor air pollution is a significant issue in developing nations, posing serious health risks and contributing to various diseases. Despite its importance, the relationship between household clean energy transition and its effects on health outcomes and medical expenses has received limited scholarly attention. This study addresses this gap by utilizing the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APCP), implemented by the State Council of China in 2013, as a policy intervention. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) spanning from 2014 to 2020, a staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) model was developed to assess the impact of the transition to clean energy on medical expenses. The findings indicate that household clean energy transition can significantly reduce residents' medical expenditures. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that rural populations, individuals with lower educational attainment, homeowners, and families consisting of three to five members experience a more significant reduction in medical costs associated with household clean energy transition. Mechanism analysis reveals that the reduction in medical costs is attributable to the improvements in health outcomes and increases in income resulting from the clean energy transition. This study offers a significant academic foundation and support for developing countries in formulating clean energy and health policies.
Keywords: household clean energy transition, medical expenditures, Clean energy policy, Staggered DID, CFPS, China
Received: 07 Nov 2024; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Tao Li, qingdao university, Qindao, China
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