This study investigates the structural inequities embedded within the allocation of non-refundable energy tax credits in the U.S. residential solar market. By analyzing tax credit data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) alongside individual-level data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplements (ASEC), we reveal a significant 74% discrepancy in tax credit utilization between low- and higher-income households. Additionally, we find that 28% of homeowner households are ineligible for full solar tax credits due to tax liability constraints. Using a structural model of household solar panel adoption that incorporates tax benefits, this research quantifies the adverse impacts of current tax policies. Through counterfactual scenarios, we demonstrate that making tax credits refundable could increase adoption rates by 23.8% overall, effectively doubling the number of solar panel systems among the most economically vulnerable populations. Furthermore, our evidence shows that refundability could lead to a significant 8% reduction in emissions, including CO2, SO2, NOx, and PM2.5. These findings underscore the need for policymakers to restructure energy tax credits to bridge the socioeconomic divide, thereby accelerating the transition towards a more sustainable and equitable energy system.

Consumers leave traces of their shopping behavior both online and offline, which may raise some privacy concerns. Such concern was made salient in recent years during some high-profile data breaches and is amplified in health-related contexts because this purchase information could contain sensitive proprietary details. In this paper, we investigate how consumers' online/offline healthcare-product shopping behaviors are affected by increasing privacy concerns about possible health-information leaks. Our analysis leverages the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), formally announced in 2018 as the primary law protecting consumers' data privacy rights. We find that the percentage of households' online shopping trips declined sharply after the CCPA announcement, relative to their offline shopping trips. This effect was more pronounced for  health products such as male enhancement products and weight-control products. These findings suggest that consumers are aware of privacy issues and make conscious choices to protect their personal health data.