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Cooking fuel choices and subjective well-being in rural China: Implications for a complete energy transition

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  • Ma, Wanglin
  • Vatsa, Puneet
  • Zheng, Hongyun

Abstract

This paper examines the impacts of cooking fuel choices on individuals' subjective well-being, measured by happiness and life satisfaction, using open-access data from the 2016 China Labor-force Dynamics Survey. We analyze the impacts by employing a multivalued treatment effects model that accounts for selectivity bias. Unlike previous studies that consider households' binary fuel use decisions or specific fuel choices, we capture the households' fuel-stacking behaviors (using multiple fuels) by classifying cooking fuels into clean fuels, non-clean fuels, and mixed-fuels. The empirical results show that complete energy transition (i.e., switching from either non-clean fuels or mixed fuels to clean fuels) significantly improves individuals' happiness and life satisfaction. In comparison, incomplete energy transition (i.e., shifting from non-clean fuels to mixed fuels) does not significantly impact individuals' subjective well-being. A complete energy transition increases people's subjective well-being in the eastern and central parts of China but has no impact on those living in western China. Furthermore, switching from non-clean fuels to clean fuels significantly reduces happiness inequality and life satisfaction inequality. Switching to cleaner fuels also significantly increases individuals' self-reported health. We recommend that the government in China make concerted efforts to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and clean energy sources and accelerate rural households' energy transition.

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  • Ma, Wanglin & Vatsa, Puneet & Zheng, Hongyun, 2022. "Cooking fuel choices and subjective well-being in rural China: Implications for a complete energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:165:y:2022:i:c:s0301421522002178
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2022.112992
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    3. Nigel Scott & Jerome Nsengiyaremye & Jacob Fodio Todd & Jon Leary, 2023. "Cooking Fuel Choice and Wellbeing: A Global Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-22, September.
    4. Sun, Shuyu & Tong, Kangkang, 2024. "Rural-urban inequality in energy use sufficiency and efficiency during a rapid urbanization period," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 364(C).
    5. Zheng, Linyi, 2023. "Impact of off-farm employment on cooking fuel choices: Implications for rural-urban transformation in advancing sustainable energy transformation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    6. Wang, Xiqian & Bian, Yong & Zhang, Qin, 2023. "The effect of cooking fuel choice on the elderly’s well-being: Evidence from two non-parametric methods," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    7. Pengyu Ren & Xiaoyi Liu & Fanghua Li & Dungang Zang, 2022. "Clean Household Energy Consumption and Residents’ Well-Being: Empirical Analysis and Mechanism Test," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-16, October.
    8. Subash Surendran Padmaja & Aditya Korekallu Srinivasa & Pooja Trivedi & Kondapi Srinivas, 2023. "Women self‐help groups and intra‐household decision‐making in agriculture," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(3), pages 857-876, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cooking fuel choices; Happiness; Life satisfaction; Energy transition; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources

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