Korean Energy Economic Review ISSN:1599-7057(Print) 에너지경제연구

While the economy has grown rapidly, income inequality and gapsin access to energy have widened across the regions. This makesenergy affordability worse especially for rural and low-incomehouseholds. This study utilizes Suits and Kakwani progressivityindexes and compares imbalances of cooking and heating energyexpenses among different regions. This study finds that thereexists imbalances in Korea in the cooking and heating energyexpenses in proportion to income and consumer spending. Thecomparison of urban and rural samples shows that expenseimbalances in rural areas were higher than those in urban areas. The results indicate that if a policy providing these subsidies isimplemented, it could tackle the regressive nature of the ruralenergy expense and help rural areas to reach more energyequality. This study also estimates the effectiveness of the energyvoucher scheme, which was scheduled to take effect in December2015, in ensuring greater energy equality.