Energy-Efficient Investments in Housing

Abstract

In recent years, many papers in environmental economics have considered the household’s decision to invest in energy-efficient technologies for their home. The vast majority of these studies have concluded that investment levels in these technologies are sub-optimal for a variety of reasons. In this paper, we synthesize the suggested drivers of these investment wedges and propose a dynamic modeling framework of a housing choice and an energy-efficient-investment choice that includes the proposed channels. We discuss the estimation challenges associated with this model and conclude with suggestions for future research.