Household preferences for cooking fuels and inter-fuel substitutions: Unlocking the modern fuels in the Nepalese household

• Published in: Energy policy 2017-08, Vol.107, p.507-523
• Main Authors: Joshi, Janak, Bohara, Alok K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access; Air pollution; Clean energy; Cleaners; Community; Cookies; Cooking; Cooking fuels; Costs; Decisions; Deforestation; Deterioration; Ecological effects; Ecology; Economic factors; Economic impact; Empirical analysis; Employment; Energy; Energy policy; Energy sources; Energy utilization; Family income; Forest management; Forest resources; Forestry; Forests; Fuels; Health care expenditures; Health care policy; Households; Income; Indoor air pollution; Indoor air quality; Indoor environments; Local communities; Logit models; Management; Multinomial logit; Nepal; Outdoor air quality; Preferences; Property rights; Public health; Remote regions; Residential energy; Social factors; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomics; Spillover effect; Standard of living; Switching
• ISSN: 0301-4215; 1873-6777
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2017.05.031

Different cooking fuels are associated with various economic and environmental challenges such as increased economic costs, indoor air pollution, deforestation, and deterioration of public health. In this study, we assess the impact of various socioeconomic factors in a household's cooking fuel choice and motive for making a transition toward cleaner fuels. This study uses household level cross-sectional data (2011) and pooled data (1996, 2004, and 2011) from the Nepal Living Standard Survey. We use multinomial and binomial logit models for the empirical analysis. The results suggest that along with household income, other social and ecological factors play a critical role in inter-fuel switching decisions. We find that transferring property rights of government-owned forests to the communities encourages households to move towards cleaner cooking fuels. We also find that household head's education, distance to the firewood sources, energy access status and household income are significant factors influencing the households’ fuel choice decisions. The policy implication is that increasing information spillover, involving local communities in forest management, and expanding alternative socioeconomic opportunities such as jobs and modern fuels in the remote regions play a vital role in encouraging the households to move towards cleaner energy sources. •Community forest as a firewood source motivates to switch to transitional fuels.•Increased cost firewood gathering creates incentives for modern fuels.•Higher education and income levels motivate to consume modern fuels.•Decreased distance to market centers motivates transition to modem fuels.