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Accepted Paper:
The critical role of trust in experiencing and coping with energy poverty: Evidence from across Europe
Katrin Grossmann
(University of Applied Sciences Erfurt)
George Jiglau
Ute Dubois
(ISG International Business School)
Anca Sinea
(Babes Bolyai University)
Paper short abstract:
Among the experience of energy-poor, distrust in institutions is widespread. While trust can strengthen the coping capacities of energy-poor households, a lack of trust, however, even cuts people from the support they could attain and thus deepens the state of energy poverty.
Paper long abstract:
Trust is a fundamental ingredient of prosperous democracies. In Europe, trust in existing elected democratic institutions seems to be fading while authoritarian nationalist movements grow. The experience of neglect, ignorance, and inferiority is among the interpretations to explain this.
With this paper, we get down to explore the link between the experiences of households in a state of energy poverty and their trust in institutions and social networks. Based on qualitative data from ten different European countries, we will show how a lack of trust in both public and private institutions is widespread among energy-poor households. Instead, our interviewees show distrust in a variety of dimensions. In contact with institutions, they report about experiences of powerlessness, bad and unfair treatment, and feelings of inferiority. While a share of the interviewees does trust single individuals, e.g. officers, in institutions, some trust only their own social networks and some have no trust in anyone. While trust in networks or (people in) institutions can strengthen the coping capacities of energy-poor households, a lack of trust, however, even cuts people from the support they could attain and thus deepens the state of energy poverty.
Click the star to add/remove an item to/from your individual schedule.
You need to be logged in to avail of this functionality. Log in
Accepted Paper:
Paper short abstract:
Paper long abstract:
Trust is a fundamental ingredient of prosperous democracies. In Europe, trust in existing elected democratic institutions seems to be fading while authoritarian nationalist movements grow. The experience of neglect, ignorance, and inferiority is among the interpretations to explain this.
With this paper, we get down to explore the link between the experiences of households in a state of energy poverty and their trust in institutions and social networks. Based on qualitative data from ten different European countries, we will show how a lack of trust in both public and private institutions is widespread among energy-poor households. Instead, our interviewees show distrust in a variety of dimensions. In contact with institutions, they report about experiences of powerlessness, bad and unfair treatment, and feelings of inferiority. While a share of the interviewees does trust single individuals, e.g. officers, in institutions, some trust only their own social networks and some have no trust in anyone. While trust in networks or (people in) institutions can strengthen the coping capacities of energy-poor households, a lack of trust, however, even cuts people from the support they could attain and thus deepens the state of energy poverty.
Understanding the lived experiences of energy poverty in the Global North and South
Session 1 Thursday 7 July, 2022, -