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Ecological Sustainability and Households’ Wellbeing: Linking Households’ Non-Traditional Fuel Choices with Reduced Depression in Rural China

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  • Xiaoheng Zhang

    (College of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211106, China)

  • Guiquan Yan

    (College of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China)

  • Qipei Feng

    (College of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211106, China)

  • Amar Razzaq

    (Business School, Huanggang Normal University, No. 146 Xingang 2nd Road, City Development Zone, Huanggang 438000, China)

  • Azhar Abbas

    (Institute of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan)

Abstract

A sustainable and pleasant environment is deemed to offer various positive externalities such as scenic, visual and behavioral archetypes and patterns exhibiting in various forms. Such a scenario can significantly relieve households from many psychological and personal complications such as depression. Depression has aroused great concerns in recent years due to its personal and social burdens and unforeseeable damage. Many studies have explored the effects of air pollution caused by traditional fuel consumption on depression. However, limited evidence is available on how household non-traditional fuel choices affect depression. Based on a nationally representative dataset collected from China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2012, this paper employs an endogenous switching regression (ESR) model and an endogenous switching probit (ESP) model to address the endogenous issue and to estimate the treatment effects of non-traditional fuel choices on depression in rural China. The empirical results show that non-traditional fuel users have significantly lower Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) scores, indicating non-traditional fuel users face a lower risk of depression. Compared to solid fuels, employing non-traditional fuels will lead to a 3.659 reduction in depression score or decrease the probability of depression by 8.2%. In addition, the results of the mechanism analysis show that household non-traditional fuel choices affect depression by reducing the probability of physical discomfort and chronic disease. This study provides new insight into understanding the impact of air pollution in the house on depression and how to avoid the risk of depression in rural China effectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoheng Zhang & Guiquan Yan & Qipei Feng & Amar Razzaq & Azhar Abbas, 2022. "Ecological Sustainability and Households’ Wellbeing: Linking Households’ Non-Traditional Fuel Choices with Reduced Depression in Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-15, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:23:p:15639-:d:983306
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    References listed on IDEAS

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