IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v20y2013icp504-513.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The energy ladder: Theoretical myth or empirical truth? Results from a meta-analysis

Author

Listed:
  • van der Kroon, Bianca
  • Brouwer, Roy
  • van Beukering, Pieter J.H.

Abstract

Modern fuels are an important enabler of social and economic development. Still, over 2 billion people rely on traditional biomass for their daily energy needs. To overcome the negative effects of traditional energy on human health and the environment and to enhance the livelihood conditions of the poor, a transition towards cleaner and more efficient forms of energy is needed. Understanding household fuel choice and fuel switching behaviour is of vital importance in search for policies to support such a transition process. This paper adds to the existing energy transition literature in two ways. First, we provide a novel conceptual framework to analyze the decision environment underlying energy and fuel choices. Second, we apply this framework in a meta-analysis of existing choice models investigating energy switching and stacking behaviour in urban and rural areas in developing countries. The meta-analysis shows that socio-economic household characteristics appear to receive most attention so far in identifying groups of fuel users, while relatively little information is available on the impact of the external decision context on household energy choices.

Suggested Citation

  • van der Kroon, Bianca & Brouwer, Roy & van Beukering, Pieter J.H., 2013. "The energy ladder: Theoretical myth or empirical truth? Results from a meta-analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 504-513.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:20:y:2013:i:c:p:504-513
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2012.11.045
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032112006594
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2012.11.045?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ouedraogo, Boukary, 2006. "Household energy preferences for cooking in urban Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(18), pages 3787-3795, December.
    2. Hosier, Richard H. & Dowd, Jeffrey, 1987. "Household fuel choice in Zimbabwe : An empirical test of the energy ladder hypothesis," Resources and Energy, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 347-361, December.
    3. Hosier, R. H. & Kipondya, W., 1993. "Urban household energy use in Tanzania : Prices, substitutes and poverty," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 454-473, May.
    4. Kowsari, Reza & Zerriffi, Hisham, 2011. "Three dimensional energy profile:," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7505-7517.
    5. Gebreegziabher, Zenebe & Mekonnen, Alemu & Kassie, Menale & Köhlin, Gunnar, 2012. "Urban energy transition and technology adoption: The case of Tigrai, northern Ethiopia," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 410-418.
    6. Mekonnen, Alemu & Köhlin, Gunnar, 2008. "Determinants of Household Fuel Choice in Major Cities in Ethiopia," RFF Working Paper Series dp-08-18-efd, Resources for the Future.
    7. Rosen, Marc A. & Dincer, Ibrahim & Kanoglu, Mehmet, 2008. "Role of exergy in increasing efficiency and sustainability and reducing environmental impact," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 128-137, January.
    8. Heltberg, Rasmus, 2005. "Factors determining household fuel choice in Guatemala," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(3), pages 337-361, June.
    9. Cooke, Priscilla & Kã–Hlin, Gunnar & Hyde, William F., 2008. "Fuelwood, forests and community management – evidence from household studies," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(1), pages 103-135, February.
    10. Foley, G., 1995. "Photovoltaic Applications in Rural Areas of the Developing World," Papers 304, World Bank - Technical Papers.
    11. Campbell, B. M. & Vermeulen, S. J. & Mangono, J. J. & Mabugu, R., 2003. "The energy transition in action: urban domestic fuel choices in a changing Zimbabwe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 553-562, May.
    12. Karekezi, Stephen & Majoro, Lugard, 2002. "Improving modern energy services for Africa's urban poor," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(11-12), pages 1015-1028, September.
    13. Dincer, Ibrahim & Rosen, Marc A., 2005. "Thermodynamic aspects of renewables and sustainable development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 169-189, April.
    14. Heltberg, Rasmus, 2004. "Fuel switching: evidence from eight developing countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 869-887, September.
    15. Farsi, Mehdi & Filippini, Massimo & Pachauri, Shonali, 2007. "Fuel choices in urban Indian households," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(6), pages 757-774, December.
    16. Gallagher, Kelly Sims, 2006. "Limits to leapfrogging in energy technologies? Evidence from the Chinese automobile industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 383-394, March.
    17. Narasimha Rao, M. & Reddy, B. Sudhakara, 2007. "Variations in energy use by Indian households: An analysis of micro level data," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 143-153.
    18. Mirza, Bilal & Kemp, Rene, 2009. "Why Rural Rich Remain Energy Poor," MERIT Working Papers 2009-024, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    19. Hiemstra-van der Horst, Greg & Hovorka, Alice J., 2008. "Reassessing the "energy ladder": Household energy use in Maun, Botswana," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 3333-3344, September.
    20. Arnold, J.E. Michael & Kohlin, Gunnar & Persson, Reidar, 2006. "Woodfuels, livelihoods, and policy interventions: Changing Perspectives," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 596-611, March.
    21. Johan Martins, 2005. "The Impact of the Use of Energy Sources on the Quality of Life of Poor Communities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 373-402, July.
    22. Gupta, Gautam & Kohlin, Gunnar, 2006. "Preferences for domestic fuel: Analysis with socio-economic factors and rankings in Kolkata, India," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 107-121, April.
    23. Israel, Debra, 2002. "Fuel Choice in Developing Countries: Evidence from Bolivia," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(4), pages 865-890, July.
    24. Takama, Takeshi & Tsephel, Stanzin & Johnson, Francis X., 2012. "Evaluating the relative strength of product-specific factors in fuel switching and stove choice decisions in Ethiopia. A discrete choice model of household preferences for clean cooking alternatives," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1763-1773.
    25. Masera, Omar R. & Saatkamp, Barbara D. & Kammen, Daniel M., 2000. "From Linear Fuel Switching to Multiple Cooking Strategies: A Critique and Alternative to the Energy Ladder Model," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 2083-2103, December.
    26. Soussan, John & O'Keefe, Phil & Munslow, Barry, 1990. "Urban fuelwood challenges and dilemmas," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 572-582.
    27. Wickramasinghe, Anoja, 2011. "Energy access and transition to cleaner cooking fuels and technologies in Sri Lanka: Issues and policy limitations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7567-7574.
    28. Leach, Gerald, 1992. "The energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 116-123, February.
    29. Pundo, Moses O. & Fraser, Gavin C.G., 2006. "Multinominal logit analysis of household cooking fuel choice in rural Kenya: The case of Kisumu district," Agrekon, Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), vol. 45(1), pages 1-14, March.
    30. John H. Y. Edwards & Christian Langpap, 2005. "Startup Costs and the Decision to Switch from Firewood to Gas Fuel," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 81(4).
    31. Davis, Mark, 1998. "Rural household energy consumption : The effects of access to electricity--evidence from South Africa," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 207-217, February.
    32. Pachauri, S. & Mueller, A. & Kemmler, A. & Spreng, D., 2004. "On Measuring Energy Poverty in Indian Households," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2083-2104, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Malla, Sunil & Timilsina, Govinda R, 2014. "Household cooking fuel choice and adoption of improved cookstoves in developing countries : a review," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6903, The World Bank.
    2. van der Kroon, Bianca & Brouwer, Roy & van Beukering, Pieter J.H., 2014. "The impact of the household decision environment on fuel choice behavior," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 236-247.
    3. Muller, Christophe & Yan, Huijie, 2018. "Household fuel use in developing countries: Review of theory and evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 429-439.
    4. Takama, Takeshi & Tsephel, Stanzin & Johnson, Francis X., 2012. "Evaluating the relative strength of product-specific factors in fuel switching and stove choice decisions in Ethiopia. A discrete choice model of household preferences for clean cooking alternatives," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1763-1773.
    5. Han, Hongyun & Wu, Shu, 2018. "Rural residential energy transition and energy consumption intensity in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 523-534.
    6. Andadari, Roos Kities & Mulder, Peter & Rietveld, Piet, 2014. "Energy poverty reduction by fuel switching. Impact evaluation of the LPG conversion program in Indonesia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 436-449.
    7. Rui Xing & Tatsuya Hanaoka & Yuko Kanamori & Toshihiko Masui, 2017. "Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutant Emissions of China’s Residential Sector: The Importance of Considering Energy Transition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-17, April.
    8. Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Das, Sukanya & De Groote, Hugo & Behera, Bhagirath, 2014. "Determinants of household energy use in Bhutan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 661-672.
    9. Mensah, Justice Tei & Adu, George, 2015. "An empirical analysis of household energy choice in Ghana," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1402-1411.
    10. Lee, Soo Min & Kim, Yeon-Su & Jaung, Wanggi & Latifah, Sitti & Afifi, Mansur & Fisher, Larry A., 2015. "Forests, fuelwood and livelihoods—energy transition patterns in eastern Indonesia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 61-70.
    11. Tafadzwa Makonese & Ayodeji P Ifegbesan & Isaac T Rampedi, 2018. "Household cooking fuel use patterns and determinants across southern Africa: Evidence from the demographic and health survey data," Energy & Environment, , vol. 29(1), pages 29-48, February.
    12. Kowsari, Reza & Zerriffi, Hisham, 2011. "Three dimensional energy profile:," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7505-7517.
    13. Muhammad Irfan & Michael P. Cameron & Gazi Hassan, 2021. "Can income growth alone increase household consumption of cleaner fuels? Evidence from Pakistan," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2021(2), pages 121-146.
    14. Han, Hongyun & Wu, Shu & Zhang, Zhijian, 2018. "Factors underlying rural household energy transition: A case study of China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 234-244.
    15. Christophe Muller & Huijie Yan, 2018. "Household Fuel Use in Rural China," AMSE Working Papers 1808, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    16. Zhang, Xiao-Bing & Hassen, Sied, 2017. "Household fuel choice in urban China: evidence from panel data," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(4), pages 392-413, August.
    17. Gebreegziabher, Zenebe & Mekonnen, Alemu & Kassie, Menale & Köhlin, Gunnar, 2012. "Urban energy transition and technology adoption: The case of Tigrai, northern Ethiopia," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 410-418.
    18. Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Behera, Bhagirath & Ali, Akhter, 2017. "Factors determining household use of clean and renewable energy sources for lighting in Sub-Saharan Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 661-672.
    19. Klege, Rebecca A. & Amuakwa-Mensah, Franklin & Visser, Martine, 2022. "Tenancy and energy choices in Rwanda. A replication and extension study," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    20. Ahmed Moustapha Mfokeu & Elie Virgile Chrysostome & Jean-Pierre Gueyie & Olivier Ebenezer Mun Ngapna, 2023. "Consumer Motivation behind the Use of Ecological Charcoal in Cameroon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-22, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:20:y:2013:i:c:p:504-513. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.