Title: Population ageing and energy consumption for sustainable development

Authors: Nur A'mirah Mohd Yaziz; A.A. Azlina

Addresses: School of Social and Economic Development, University Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia ' School of Social and Economic Development, University Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

Abstract: Population ageing has been acknowledged as a cause of the alteration in residential energy consumption pattern, which partly arises from the exit of the workforce from the labour market due to the retirement age limit, promoting a sedentary lifestyle. However, there is a lack of research exploring the shift in energy demand that specifically scrutinises the effect of population ageing on the consumption structure. In this context, the paper aims to investigate the relationship between residential electricity consumption and demographic indicators specific to labour force participation. This study uses a literature survey of household consumption structure, ageing labour force participation, and energy consumption factors, while the econometric approach is proposed to estimate the determinants. Based on the findings, this study supports the inclusion of the employment rate in expressing residential electricity consumption in the population ageing scenario. This paper ends with the development of a proposed model for future research work due to the economics of population ageing in energy.

Keywords: older people; household consumption; labour force participation; energy consumption factors; sustainability.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESD.2020.108138

International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 2020 Vol.19 No.3, pp.241 - 257

Received: 27 Jun 2018
Accepted: 20 Dec 2018

Published online: 03 Jul 2020 *

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