IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v184y2024ics0301421523004810.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Human capital and cooking fuel choices in rural China: Perspective from cognitive and noncognitive skills

Author

Listed:
  • Bai, Caiquan
  • Sun, Zhang
  • Feng, Chen
  • Xiao, Weiwei

Abstract

Choosing renewable fuels for household cooking is of great significance for environmental protection. Using data from the 2016 China Family Panel Studies, this study empirically explores the impact of the human capital of rural household heads, measured by cognitive and noncognitive skills, on household cooking fuel choices and their mechanisms. The findings of this study are as follows: (1) improving the cognitive and noncognitive skills of rural household heads can significantly promote the use of renewable cooking fuels; (2) these two skills influence household renewable fuel choices through income effects and information-seeking effects; (3) raising human capital significantly increases the consumption of renewable fuels for household heads aged less than or equal to 65; and (4) compared with unmarried household heads, improving the human capital of married ones can significantly increase the use of renewable cooking fuels. Therefore, universal compulsory education, village/community adult training and education, and environmental protection publicity are important measures for carbon emission reduction, environmental protection, and sustainable economic development, particularly for developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Bai, Caiquan & Sun, Zhang & Feng, Chen & Xiao, Weiwei, 2024. "Human capital and cooking fuel choices in rural China: Perspective from cognitive and noncognitive skills," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:184:y:2024:i:c:s0301421523004810
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113896
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421523004810
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113896?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Erik Grönqvist & Björn Öckert & Jonas Vlachos, 2017. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive and Noncognitive Abilities," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(4), pages 887-918.
    2. Sonja C Kassenboehmer & Felix Leung & Stefanie Schurer, 2018. "University education and non-cognitive skill development," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 70(2), pages 538-562.
    3. Chen, Qiu & Yang, Haoran & Liu, Tianbiao & Zhang, Lin, 2016. "Household biomass energy choice and its policy implications on improving rural livelihoods in Sichuan, China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 291-302.
    4. Hanushek, Eric A. & Schwerdt, Guido & Wiederhold, Simon & Woessmann, Ludger, 2015. "Returns to skills around the world: Evidence from PIAAC," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 103-130.
    5. Rema Hanna & Esther Duflo & Michael Greenstone, 2016. "Up in Smoke: The Influence of Household Behavior on the Long-Run Impact of Improved Cooking Stoves," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 80-114, February.
    6. Lex Borghans & Angela Lee Duckworth & James J. Heckman & Bas ter Weel, 2008. "The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(4).
    7. Tim Kautz & James J. Heckman & Ron Diris & Bas ter Weel & Lex Borghans, 2014. "Fostering and Measuring Skills: Improving Cognitive and Non-cognitive Skills to Promote Lifetime Success," OECD Education Working Papers 110, OECD Publishing.
    8. Honge Gong & Andrew Leigh & Xin Meng, 2012. "Intergenerational Income Mobility In Urban China," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 58(3), pages 481-503, September.
    9. Alem, Yonas & Beyene, Abebe D. & Köhlin, Gunnar & Mekonnen, Alemu, 2016. "Modeling household cooking fuel choice: A panel multinomial logit approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 129-137.
    10. Eric A. Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2008. "The Role of Cognitive Skills in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(3), pages 607-668, September.
    11. Resul Cesur & Erdal Tekin & Aydogan Ulker, 2017. "Air Pollution and Infant Mortality: Evidence from the Expansion of Natural Gas Infrastructure," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(600), pages 330-362, March.
    12. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Shi, Xinzheng & Wu, Binzhen, 2012. "Does having a cadre parent pay? Evidence from the first job offers of Chinese college graduates," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 513-520.
    13. Michael Stuetzer & David B. Audretsch & Martin Obschonka & Samuel D. Gosling & Peter J. Rentfrow & Jeff Potter, 2018. "Entrepreneurship culture, knowledge spillovers and the growth of regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(5), pages 608-618, May.
    14. Cunningham,Wendy & Parra Torrado,Mónica & Sarzosa,Miguel Alonso, 2016. "Cognitive and non-cognitive skills for the Peruvian labor market : addressing measurement error through latent skills estimations," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7550, The World Bank.
    15. Birchenall, Javier A., 2001. "Income distribution, human capital and economic growth in Colombia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 271-287, October.
    16. Zhao, Jun & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Dong, Kangyin, 2022. "How does energy poverty eradication promote green growth in China? The role of technological innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    17. Lutz Hendricks & Todd Schoellman, 2018. "Human Capital and Development Accounting: New Evidence from Wage Gains at Migration," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(2), pages 665-700.
    18. Claessens, Amy & Duncan, Greg & Engel, Mimi, 2009. "Kindergarten skills and fifth-grade achievement: Evidence from the ECLS-K," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 415-427, August.
    19. Pachauri, Shonali & Jiang, Leiwen, 2008. "The household energy transition in India and China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 4022-4035, November.
    20. Qin, Xuezheng & Wang, Tianyu & Zhuang, Castiel Chen, 2016. "Intergenerational transfer of human capital and its impact on income mobility: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 306-321.
    21. Joshi, Janak & Bohara, Alok K., 2017. "Household preferences for cooking fuels and inter-fuel substitutions: Unlocking the modern fuels in the Nepalese household," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 507-523.
    22. Paudel, Uttam & Khatri, Umesh & Pant, Krishna Prasad, 2018. "Understanding the determinants of household cooking fuel choice in Afghanistan: A multinomial logit estimation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 55-62.
    23. Mottaleb, Khondoker Abdul & Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Ali, Akhter, 2017. "An exploration into the household energy choice and expenditure in Bangladesh," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 767-776.
    24. Behrman, Jere R & Taubman, Paul, 1976. "Intergenerational Transmission of Income and Wealth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(2), pages 436-440, May.
    25. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    26. Hoeschler, Peter & Balestra, Simone & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2018. "The development of non-cognitive skills in adolescence," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 40-45.
    27. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Raghutla, Chandrashekar & Song, Malin & Zameer, Hashim & Jiao, Zhilun, 2020. "Public-private partnerships investment in energy as new determinant of CO2 emissions: The role of technological innovations in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    28. Resul Cesur & Erdal Tekin & Aydogan Ulker, 2017. "Air Pollution and Infant Mortality: Evidence from the Expansion of Natural Gas Infrastructure," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(600), pages 330-362, March.
    29. Jerik Hanushek & Dennis Kimko, 2006. "Schooling, Labor-force Quality, and the Growth of Nations," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 1, pages 154-193.
    30. Deborah Levison & Deborah S. DeGraff & Esther W. Dungumaro, 2018. "Implications of Environmental Chores for Schooling: Children’s Time Fetching Water and Firewood in Tanzania," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(2), pages 217-234, April.
    31. Gensowski, Miriam, 2018. "Personality, IQ, and lifetime earnings," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 170-183.
    32. Kangyin Dong & Xiucheng Dong & Qingzhe Jiang, 2020. "How renewable energy consumption lower global CO2 emissions? Evidence from countries with different income levels," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(6), pages 1665-1698, June.
    33. Brindusa Anghel & Pau Balart, 2017. "Non-cognitive skills and individual earnings: new evidence from PIAAC," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 417-473, November.
    34. Dong, Kangyin & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Zhao, Jun, 2022. "How inclusive financial development eradicates energy poverty in China? The role of technological innovation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    35. Acharya, Bikram & Marhold, Klaus, 2019. "Determinants of household energy use and fuel switching behavior in Nepal," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 1132-1138.
    36. Han, Hongyun & Wu, Shu & Zhang, Zhijian, 2018. "Factors underlying rural household energy transition: A case study of China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 234-244.
    37. Orazio Attanasio & Costas Meghir & Emily Nix, 2020. "Human Capital Development and Parental Investment in India," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(6), pages 2511-2541.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Zhong & Wang, Menghan & Xiong, Qinqin & Liu, Chang, 2020. "Does centralized residence promote the use of cleaner cooking fuels? Evidence from rural China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    2. 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).
    3. Wang, Menghan & Liu, Zhong & Xu, Aiyan & Yang, Dan, 2022. "Fuel choice for rural Tibetan households: Impacts of access to credit," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    4. Mahdi Gholami & Samuel Muehlemann, 2024. "Mastering Math: A Gateway to Better Firms and Higher Earnings," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0212, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW), revised May 2024.
    5. Marta Palczynska, 2018. "Wage premia for skills: The complementarity of cognitive and non-cognitive skills," IBS Working Papers 09/2018, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    6. Eckhardt Bode & Stephan Brunow & Ingrid Ott & Alina Sorgner, 2019. "Worker Personality: Another Skill Bias beyond Education in the Digital Age," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 20(4), pages 254-294, November.
    7. Ma, Wanglin & Zheng, Hongyun & Gong, Binlei, 2021. "Household Energy Choice for Cooking: Do Rural Income Growth and Ethnic Difference Play a Role?," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 314990, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Aziz, Shakila & Barua, Suborna & Chowdhury, Shahriar Ahmed, 2022. "Cooking energy use in Bangladesh: Evidence from technology and fuel choice," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    9. Koirala, Dhiroj Prasad & Acharya, Bikram, 2022. "Households’ fuel choices in the context of a decade-long load-shedding problem in Nepal," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    10. Germán Reyes, 2023. "Cognitive Endurance, Talent Selection, and the Labor Market Returns to Human Capital," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_490, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    11. Germ'an Reyes, 2023. "Cognitive Endurance, Talent Selection, and the Labor Market Returns to Human Capital," Papers 2301.02575, arXiv.org.
    12. Zhu, Xiaodong & Zhu, Zheng & Zhu, Bangzhu & Wang, Ping, 2022. "The determinants of energy choice for household cooking in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    13. J.M.D. Sandamali Wijayarathne & Gazi M. Hassan & Mark J. Holmes, 2021. "Non-Price Determinants of Energy Choice for Cooking: Empirical Evidence from Sri Lankan Households," Working Papers in Economics 21/05, University of Waikato.
    14. Sandsør, Astrid Marie Jorde, 2020. "Jack-of-all-subjects? The association between individual grade variance and educational attainment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    15. Brindusa Anghel & Pau Balart, 2017. "Non-cognitive skills and individual earnings: new evidence from PIAAC," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 417-473, November.
    16. Maksimova, Mariia, 2019. "The return to non-cognitive skills on the Russian labor market," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 53, pages 55-72.
    17. Liu, Yuan & Chen, Jiahui & Zhao, Lutao & Liao, Hua, 2023. "Rural photovoltaic projects substantially prompt household energy transition: Evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    18. Nejad, Maryam Naghsh & Schurer, Stefanie, 2022. "Cognitive and non-cognitive abilities of immigrants: New perspectives on migrant quality from a selective immigration country," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 107-124.
    19. John A. List & Fatemeh Momeni & Yves Zenou, 2020. "The Social Side of Early Human Capital Formation: Using a Field Experiment to Estimate the Causal Impact of Neighborhoods," Working Papers 2020-187, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    20. Harrington, Elise & Athavankar, Ameya & Hsu, David, 2020. "Variation in rural household energy transitions for basic lighting in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:184:y:2024:i:c:s0301421523004810. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.