Determinants of household choice of cooking energy and the effect of clean cooking energy consumption on household members’ health status: The case of rural Ghana

Abstract

This study examines the determinants of the choice of cooking energy among households and further focuses on the quantitative impact of clean cooking energy consumption on rural household members’ health status using survey data from Ghana. The multivariate probit model was used to analyses the determinants of the choice of cooking energy while the endogenous switching regression model was employed to examine the impacts of clean cooking energy consumption on household members’ health. The empirical results from the multivariate probit model depicted that the choice of cooking energy is positively and significantly influenced by household/householder education, access to the Internet, off-farm work, non-fixed assets and credit, and a household having a member residing in an urban area. Regarding the endogenous switching regression model findings, it was revealed that clean cooking energy consumption can help increase the share of healthy household members by 19.11%. Finally, compared with males, the impact of clean cooking energy consumption on the share of healthy female members is more prominent. Our findings provide policy implications to improve rural energy sustainability development.