The Improved Biomass Stove Saves Wood, But How Often Do People Use it? Evidence from a Randomized Treatment Trial in Ethiopia

40 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Abebe Beyene

Abebe Beyene

EfD Ethiopia

Randall A. Bluffstone

Portland State University - Department of Economics

Zenebe Gebreegziabher

Mekelle University - Department of Economics

Peter Martinsson

University of Gothenburg - Department of Economics and Statistics

Alemu Mekonnen

Addis Ababa University - Department of Economics

Ferdinand M. Vieider

University of Lyon, CNRS-GATE; German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin); WZB Berlin Social Science Center

Date Written: June 9, 2015

Abstract

This paper uses a randomized experimental design and real-time electronic stove use monitors to evaluate the frequency with which villagers use improved biomass-burning Mirt injera cookstoves in rural Ethiopia. Understanding whether, how much, and why improved cookstoves are used is important, because use of the improved stove is a critical determinant of indoor air pollution reductions, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions due to lower fuelwood consumption. Confirming use is, for example, a critical aspect of crediting improved cookstoves? climate change benefits under the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Programme. The paper finds that Ethiopian households in the study area do use the Mirt stove on a regular basis, taking into account regional differences in cooking patterns. In general, stove users also use their Mirt stoves more frequently over time. Giving the Mirt stove away for free and supporting community-level user networks are estimated to lead to more use. The study found no evidence, however, that stove recipients use the stoves more if they have to pay for them, a hypothesis that frequently arises in policy arenas and has also been examined in the literature.

Keywords: Energy and Mining, Climate Change and Health, Science of Climate Change, Energy Demand, Climate Change and Environment, Energy and Environment, Global Environment

Suggested Citation

Beyene, Abebe and Bluffstone, Randall Ames and Gebreegziabher, Zenebe and Martinsson, Peter and Mekonnen, Alemu and Vieider, Ferdinand M., The Improved Biomass Stove Saves Wood, But How Often Do People Use it? Evidence from a Randomized Treatment Trial in Ethiopia (June 9, 2015). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 7297, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2616555

Abebe Beyene (Contact Author)

EfD Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Randall Ames Bluffstone

Portland State University - Department of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 751
Portland, OR 97207-0751
United States
503-725-3938 (Phone)
503-725-3945 (Fax)

Zenebe Gebreegziabher

Mekelle University - Department of Economics ( email )

Adi Haki Campus
Post Box No. 451
Mekelle
Ethiopia

Peter Martinsson

University of Gothenburg - Department of Economics and Statistics ( email )

Box 640
Vasagatan 1, E-building, floor 5 & 6
Göteborg, 40530
Sweden

Alemu Mekonnen

Addis Ababa University - Department of Economics

Addis Ababa
Ethiopia

Ferdinand M. Vieider

University of Lyon, CNRS-GATE ( email )

93, chemin des Mouilles
Ecully, 69130
France

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)

Mohrenstraße 58
Berlin, 10117
Germany

WZB Berlin Social Science Center ( email )

Reichpietschufer 50
D-10785 Berlin, 10785
Germany

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