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Contents Introduction

This study investigates the causal impact of energy poverty on children’s subjective well-being in four developing countries: Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. Energy poverty is measured using a multidimensional framework applied to longitudinal data from the Young Lives project. To address potential endogeneity concerns, we employ a two-stage least squares (2SLS) approach, instrumenting household energy poverty with residential electricity prices at the country level. The results indicate that energy poverty significantly reduces children’s subjective well-being across alternative measurement thresholds. The negative effects are robust across specifications and are more pronounced among boys and older children. Additional analysis shows that health status serves as a key transmission channel linking energy deprivation to lower subjective well-being.