Does New Energy Vehicle Adoption Improve Residents’Well-Being? Evidence from an Ordered Probit Model 
CHEN Tingting  JIN Shuiying

College of Economics and Management Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, 321004;

Abstract:With the continuous strategic development of the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector by China and growing attention to public well-being, it is of considerable practical significance to explore the relationship between NEV use and residents’ well-being. This study employs survey data from 1,266 vehicle owners and an ordered Probit model to explore the effects of NEV use on residents’ well-being and the mechanisms. Results show that: (1) NEV use significantly improves residents’ well-being compared with conventional fuel vehicle use; (2) NEV use enhances well-being by reducing vehicle-related costs and improving vehicle performance; and (3) the positive effect is statistically significant among residents with rural household registration and residents living in western China, but not among residents with urban household registration or residents living in eastern and central China. The findings give empirical data to promote the wider use and use of NEVs and important insights to improve the well-being of inhabitants.

Keywords: NEVs; residents’ well-being; Ordered Probit model; vehicle-related costs; vehicle performance

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