Improving Rural Women’s Health in China: Cooking With Clean Energy

Abstract

It is well known that women bear the greatest burden of health, time and labor supply due to gender disparity in many developing countries. In this study, we analyze the health inequality in rural China caused by indoor air pollution from traditional energy use. Specifically, we study the effect of clean energy access on woman health outcome by exploiting a nationwide rollout of clean cooking fuel program in 2014. Based on interviews with rural women in 2014 and 2016, this study analyzes the impact of clean energy use on women's health by using the Propensity Score Matching method with the Difference-in-Differences model (PSM-DID). We also analyze the heterogeneous health effects of clean energy uptake on rural women with different characteristics. The results show that clean energy applications can significantly improve the health of rural women. The positive health effects are substantial for middle-aged and older women, illiterate women and those women lived in northeastern China. The results highlight the role of clean energy in reducing gender disparities in health inequality. Therefore, the government in developing countries should do more to educate the people on the uses of clean energy and its benefits for women's health, provide technical and economic support for clean energy applications, and optimize clean energy promotion strategies.