Benefits of Improved Cook Stoves: Evidence from Rural Bangladesh

Abstract

Reduction of biomass fuel consumption, improved health outcomes of household members and time savings for households are the key intended benefits of Improved Cook Stove (ICS). This paper attempts an empirical verification of these targeted benefits of the ICS, named Bondhu Chula, in ruralBangladesh. Propensity score matching (PSM), a quasi-experimenteconometric method, has been applied using the 2018 household survey data of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) that collected information from 600 users of Bondhu Chula and 396 users of traditional cook stoves. The analysis reveals that the use of Bondhu Chula on the averagesaves about 50 kg of biomass fuel consumption per month per household, i.e. 30-37 per cent of biomass fuel consumption compared to households using traditional cook stoves. Bondhu Chula was also found to have provided improved health outcomes by reducing indoor air pollution and led to reduced household cooking time. Despite the observed benefits of the use of ICS, the progress towards the adoption of ICS across the country is not satisfactory and there is a large opportunity to scale-up the use of ICS. The evidence provides justification for such a policy move.