Residential demand for natural gas by black and nonblack households in the Midwest

Conference · Tue Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:6263293

Poyer, D A; Johnson, G

This paper presents a comparative analysis of natural gas demand by black and nonblack households in the Midwest census region. Historically, such comparative analyses have been grounded in comparisons of the share of income spent for energy (see Newman and Day, 1975; Grier, 1979; and Brazzel and Hunter, 1979). Because of theoretical flaws associated with this approach, our analysis is couched within a complete demand system (see Morrissey, 1984) in which certain restrictions required by consumer demand theory are imposed on our energy demand system. This approach should provide more precise measurement of the relative nature of natural gas demand. Philips (1983), Deaton and Muellbauer (1980), and Theil (1980), along with Morrissev, provide fine discussions of the complete demand system. Our working hypothesis is that the structural demand relationship for natural gas is different for black and nonblack households and that this difference reflects the greater vulnerability of blacks to rising prices of natural gas. Because of deficient economic resources and a long legacy of institutional constraints such as financial red-lining and housing discrimination, as well as lingering behavioral characteristics, it remains difficult for blacks to move out of energy-inefficient housing. This, in turn, corresponds directly to a larger energy demand burden for blacks in the Midwest. This paper is organized into four sections. The first section provides the historical background upon which our analysis is based. The second section is a discussion of our demand model. Our empirical results are described in the third section. In the fourth and final section, our conclusions and suggestions for future research are presented. 18 refs., 7 tabs.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 6263293
• Report Number(s): CONF-8510242-2; ON: DE86008002
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
030600* -- Natural Gas-- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290100 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Energy Analysis & Modeling
294003 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Natural Gas
DEMAND
ENERGY DEMAND
ENERGY MODELS
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION VII
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
NATURAL GAS
NORTH AMERICA
PRICES
RESIDENTIAL SECTOR
USA