Unequal Uptake: Assessing Distributional Disparities in the Residential Solar Market
利用在线太阳能光伏市场数据，研究发现低收入和少数族裔家庭采用太阳能的比例和消费者剩余显著低于高收入和白人家庭，并分解了需求与供给因素对差异的贡献。
We examine technology adoption and consumer welfare disparities across demographic groups using data from an online solar photovoltaic (PV) marketplace. Low-income households are 25% less likely to purchase solar through the platform and obtain 53% lower expected consumer surplus than high-income households. Moreover, Black and Hispanic households are relatively less likely to purchase solar through the platform and obtain lower consumer surplus than White and Asian households. We develop a method to decompose the drivers of consumer welfare disparities between demographic groups. Differences in demand fully account for the consumer surplus disparities between high- and low-income households and between White and Hispanic households. However, supply-side factors explain 37% of the consumer surplus gap between White and Black households. Black households get relatively fewer bids and face higher prices, and installers have higher implied costs to serve them. Finally, we assess counterfactuals that offer targeted price discounts to certain demographic groups.