Policy implications of the purchasing intentions towards energy-efficient appliances among China’s urban residents: Do subsidies work?

• Published in: Energy policy Vol. 102; pp. 430 - 439
• Main Authors: Wang, Zhaohua, Wang, Xiaomeng, Guo, Dongxue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2017; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Appliances; Broadcasting; China; Chinese people; educational status; Effectiveness; Empirical analysis; Energy efficiency; Energy policy; Energy-efficient appliances; Environmental awareness; Intellectuals; issues and policy; Mass media; Mass media effects; people; Procurement policy; Production; Propaganda; Purchasing; Purchasing intention; Regions; Residents; Structural equation model; structural equation modeling; Studies; Subsidies; Subsidy policy; Telecommunications policy; Theory of planned behaviour; Urban population; Willingness to pay; China; Energy-efficient appliances; Purchasing intention; Subsidy policy; Structural equation model; Theory of planned behaviour
• ISSN: 0301-4215; 1873-6777
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2016.12.049

Incentive policies are always used to sway purchase, retail stocking, and production decisions toward energy-efficient products by many countries or regions. So the effectiveness of such subsidies has been of much concern to scholars. This research focused on whether, or not, subsidy policies have guided people's intentions and behaviours. We investigated 436 urban residents from 22 provinces in China, covering the seven major geographic regions, and made an empirical analysis of the factors influencing Chinese urban residents’ purchasing intentions towards energy-efficient appliances based on the structural equation model. On theoretical aspect, we developed the theory of planned behaviour. Our results show that the variable “POLICY” is insignificant which indicates that policy environment and media propaganda in China do not have significant effect on Chinese residents’ willingness to pay for energy-efficient appliances. While, the residents’ environmental awareness, past purchasing experiences, social relationships, age, and level of education all exert a significant influence on Chinese residents’ purchasing intentions. Finally, based on the above research results, the corresponding policy suggestions which mainly focus on the time of subsidy, the object of subsidy and the method of subsidy are offered for policy makers. •We researched people’s behaviour combined with a policy implementation background.•We found that the subsidy policy didn’t change people’s purchase intentions.•Past purchasing experiences significantly influence consumers’ purchase intentions.•We proposed policy advices about the time, types and methods of incentive policies.