Household cooking fuel choice: Evidence from the Republic of Benin

Abstract

This paper investigates empirically the choice of cooking fuels and the factors that are associated with the adoption of modern cooking fuels. Exploiting the 2015 Benin Living Standard Measurement Survey data of 19,705 households, a multinomial probit model is estimated to identify the factors that are associated with the adoption of the three categories of cooking fuels (traditional, transition, and modern). Overall, the findings reveal that the most used cooking fuels are traditional in general, that is, firewood (68.28%), followed by transition fuels (27.25%), and modern fuels (4.47%), with disparities across rural and urban areas. The estimation results indicate that having a female household head, having a household head with at least secondary formal education level, per capita expenditures, remittances, access to electricity, and economic shocks are positively associated with the adoption of modern cooking fuels, while not living in the main city of the country hinders their adoption.

Renewable energy adoption and rural livelihoods in Ethiopia

“…Thus, there are some heterogeneities across household types in terms of energy mix for residential purposes. These heterogeneities maybe attributable to factors such as household income and household composition in terms of age and gender as pointed out in previous studies (e.g., Djanibekov & Gaur, 2018;Lokonon, 2020).…”

“…However, gradual energy transition from traditional biomass to clean electricity may help reduce environmental pressure attributed to unsustainable forest extraction and to energize rural economic development, even if full substitution is very unlikely in the foreseeable future. Extensive empirical studies identified numerous determinants of energy transition such as income, education, demographic variables, and energy availability (Guta, 2012; Lokonon, 2020; Malla & Timilsina, 2014; Mekonnen & Köhlin, 2009). They also indicate the lack of appropriate energy‐efficient stoves and modern energy services, especially in rural areas.…”

“…In rural Ghana, 70% of the population heavily depend on wood for cooking and heating (Akpalu et al, 2011). Thus, the use of cleaner, more efficient modern energy sources, such as electricity, biogas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or compressed natural gas (CNG), remains limited in the rural areas across SSA (Akpalu et al, 2011; Alemu, 2013; Lokonon, 2020). As a result of growing fuelwood scarcity, the collection of fuelwood for household cooking needs is taking increasingly more labor time, thus reducing family labor availability for other productive activities (Mekonnen et al, 2017).…”

“…As an illustration, in the case of Ethiopia, traditional biomass energy provides about 90% of the total energy consumption (Guta, 2014). In the case of Benin, traditional fuels are used by 68.28% of households, about 45.52% in urban areas and 89.04% in rural areas (Lokonon, 2020). In rural Ghana, 70% of the population heavily depend on wood for cooking and heating (Akpalu et al, 2011).…”

Natural gas consumption and economic performance in selected sub‐Saharan African countries: A heterogeneous panel ARDL analysis

“…Despite the abundance of natural gas resources in these selected producing countries (Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria and South Africa), about 220 million out of the approximately 313 million population lack access to clean cooking energy (International Energy Agency, 2019;World Bank, 2019). In all, over 70% of the SSA population still rely on traditional energy sources such as fuelwood and charcoal for cooking, thereby generating environmental pollution which causes health problems such as respiratory diseases (Ajayi, 2018;Efobi & Adejumo, 2020;Lokonon, 2020).…”