Spatio-temporal dynamics and heterogeneous drivers of rural energy poverty in China: Evidence from ESTDA and geographically weighted regression analysis

Rural energy poverty poses a significant challenge to China's sustainable development, yet existing research lacks integrated analytical frameworks to systematically explore its evolution and explanatory patterns. This study analyzes balanced panel data from 31 Chinese provinces between 2011 and 2021 using an integrated framework combining spatio-temporal analysis with spatial econometric models. The findings reveal that rural energy poverty decreased from 0.517 to 0.403, exhibiting a persistent