Fuel and Appliance Adoption in Ethiopia: Heterogeneities and Prioritization

Abstract

The study investigated urban households’ fuel choices and their prioritization on adoption of electric home appliances in Ethiopia using a nationwide panel data and random effects multinomial logit modeling. The principal cooking fuel for more than half (57%) of the urban dwellers is firewood and crop residuals. Charcoal’s contribution to energy needs for cooking in urban areas is almost equal to that of electricity, at about 20 percent. Econometric results show that households’ choices for cooking fuel were significantly associated with family compositions, educational attendance, types of cooking spaces, proximity to roads, and electric power outages. On the other hand, the adoption of electric stoves for injera making ( mitad ) is not significantly associated with household income and stove prices, compared to other home appliances like television. The result showed that middle-income households are more likely to adopt television sets than electric mitads . Having access to a metered electricity, presence of adult female members in the family, education, and cooking space play important roles in households’ adoption decisions of electric mitad . Our study has policy implications in addressing the gaps in the adoption of electronic home appliances in urban areas.

Keywords: electronic appliances, fuel choice, multinomial logit, urban areas, Ethiopia