Information leverage: The adoption of clean cooking fuel in Bhutan

The outcome of household choice depends on the private information available to an agent, particularly in terms of costs and benefits. This study examines the role of information in the adoption of clean cooking fuel in Bhutan. We use a rural subsample of nationally representative data from the 2012 Bhutan Living Standard Survey (BLSS) conducted in all twenty districts. We estimate a bivariate probit model to control for the potentially endogenous information variable. The results indicate that households that have access to information are approximately 39% more likely to adopt clean cooking fuel. Similarly, households are 49% less likely to adopt dirty fuel (firewood) when exposed to information. Other factors such as education, the electricity supply, access to liquidity and the distance to the market are important factors that contribute to adopting clean cooking fuel. The results also show that the effect of information varies depending on the level of education of the household heads, thus highlighting the importance of accounting for the level of education of information recipients when designing a similar information provision.