Correlational analysis of energy burden and eviction rate

Abstract

Evictions occur when a landlord expels renters from residing in property the landlord owns. Recent data suggest that approximately 40% of residential households in California from years 2012 to 2016 are occupied by renters. The prevalence of renting along with increasing awareness of evictions make studying the causes of eviction a topic of interest for public officials, scholars, housing service providers, and the renter population among others. High cost of living is a direct common cause of evictions across the US. This paper examines and presents a study on the connection between energy burden (how much a single household pays for electricity out of its total household income) and eviction rate. Analysis relies on the application of quantitative research methods using census tract level data from 2012 to 2016 over the service territory of Southern California Edison (SCE). This study uses models that account for both time-variant and time-invariant effects of other key cost and household demographic variables on eviction rate. By taking this approach, the author attempts to separate an unbiased effect of energy burden, which could inform predictions about whether high energy burden is generally accompanied by high eviction rates. Preliminary results suggest that there is a borderline significant positive correlation between energy burden and the unobserved time-invariant census tract level heterogeneity that contributes to higher eviction rates.