The Transition in Household Energy Use for Cooking in India: Evidence from a Longitudinal Survey

Abstract

This article seeks to assess the transition in household energy use for cooking in India based on data from two rounds of the India Human Development Survey in 2004–2005 and 2011–2012. In this study, we have used the multinomial logistic regression and Multiple Classification Analysis conversion model to assess the transition in household energy use according to the socio-economic characteristics of households. Our findings suggest that although the transition from solid fuel to clean fuel is universal across households, it is greater among the socio-economically better-off households than their poorer counterparts. The use of solid fuel for cooking was more prevalent among the socio-economically disadvantaged households than among their socio-economically better-off counterparts in both 2004–2005 and 2011–2012. Convergence in clean cooking fuel use across the households can be possible only when socio-economically disadvantaged households progress faster than their already better-off counterparts. JEL Codes: B5, C23, D31, I3, Q5