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Who Adopts LPG as the Main Cooking Fuel and Why? Empirical Evidence on Ghana Based on National Survey

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  • Karimu, Amin
  • Mensah, Justice Tei
  • Adu, George

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to identify the factors that influence the probability of adopting LPG as the main cooking fuel in Ghana using household level data gleaned from last two nationwide household surveys (GLSS 5 & GLSS 6). Using a flexible semi-parametric specification, the following were uncovered. First, we find socioeconomic and demographic factors such as income, education, access to urban infrastructure, and location of household, as key drivers of households’ choice of LPG as main cooking energy source. Again the influences of these factors are stable across time, and with a strong price effect. The evidence shows that urban households with better socioeconomic and demographic factors are likely to adopt LPG as the main cooking fuel relative to households in rural areas and also urban households with poor socioeconomic and demographic factors. Finally, we observe that the imposition of fully parametric structure (functional form) prior to estimation on factors such as age of household head, income, and household size as done in the literature is inappropriate, at least in the case of Ghana and tend to bias the marginal effects. There is strong evidence of variations in the response rate of LPG adoption over the domains of income, household size, and the age of the household head. The results suggest a policy dichotomy between rural and urban dwellers for it to be effective.

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  • Karimu, Amin & Mensah, Justice Tei & Adu, George, 2016. "Who Adopts LPG as the Main Cooking Fuel and Why? Empirical Evidence on Ghana Based on National Survey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 43-57.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:85:y:2016:i:c:p:43-57
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.05.004
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    4. Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Nguyen, Thanh-Tung & Hoang, Viet-Ngu & Wilson, Clevo, 2019. "Energy transition, poverty and inequality: panel evidence from Vietnam," MPRA Paper 107182, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 May 2019.
    5. Adjei-Mantey, Kwame & Takeuchi, Kenji & Quartey, Peter, 2021. "Impact of LPG promotion program in Ghana: The role of distance to refill," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    6. Boqiang Lin & Michael Adu Okyere, 2020. "Multidimensional Energy Poverty and Mental Health: Micro-Level Evidence from Ghana," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-18, September.
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    8. Frank Adusah-Poku & Samuel Adams & Kwame Adjei-Mantey, 2023. "Does the gender of the household head affect household energy choice in Ghana? An empirical analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 6049-6070, July.
    9. Martey, Edward & Etwire, Prince M. & Atinga, David & Yevu, Mawuli, 2021. "Household energy choice for cooking among the time and consumption poor in Ghana," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    10. Adusah-Poku, Frank & Takeuchi, Kenji, 2019. "Household energy expenditure in Ghana: A double-hurdle model approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 266-277.
    11. McLean, Elena V. & Bagchi-Sen, Sharmistha & Atkinson, John D. & Ravenscroft, Julia & Hewner, Sharon & Schindel, Alexandra, 2019. "Country-level analysis of household fuel transitions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 267-280.
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    13. Bensch, Gunther & Peters, Jörg, 2016. "Enablers of strong cookstove sales through a purchase offer approach in rural Senegal: An explorative analysis," Ruhr Economic Papers 650, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    14. Philbert Mperejekumana & Huan Li & Rucong Wu & Jiaxin Lu & Obid Tursunov & Hussien Elshareef & Mohamed S. Gaballah & Nsengiyumva Jean Nepo & Yuguang Zhou & Renjie Dong, 2021. "Determinants of Household Energy Choice for Cooking in Northern Sudan: A Multinomial Logit Estimation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-14, October.
    15. Obianuju B. Ozoh & Tochi J. Okwor & Olorunfemi Adetona & Ayesha O. Akinkugbe & Casmir E. Amadi & Christopher Esezobor & Olufunke O. Adeyeye & Oluwafemi Ojo & Vivian N. Nwude & Kevin Mortimer, 2018. "Cooking Fuels in Lagos, Nigeria: Factors Associated with Household Choice of Kerosene or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-13, March.
    16. Adusah-Poku, Frank & Takeuchi, Kenji, 2019. "Energy poverty in Ghana: Any progress so far?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 853-864.
    17. Martey, Edward, 2019. "Tenancy and energy choice for lighting and cooking: Evidence from Ghana," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 570-581.
    18. Crentsil, Aba Obrumah & Asuman, Derek & Fenny, Ama Pokuaa, 2019. "Assessing the determinants and drivers of multidimensional energy poverty in Ghana," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    19. Francisco Chicombo, Adélia Filosa & Musango, Josephine Kaviti, 2022. "Towards a theoretical framework for gendered energy transition at the urban household level: A case of Mozambique," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    20. Lin, Boqiang & Okyere, Michael Adu, 2022. "Are people energy poor because of their prosocial behavior? Evidence from Ghana," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PE).
    21. Frank Adusah‐Poku & Kwame Adjei‐Mantey & Paul A. Kwakwa, 2021. "Are energy‐poor households also poor? Evidence from Ghana," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(1), pages 32-58, March.
    22. Gill-Wiehl, Annelise & Brown, Timothy & Smith, Kirk, 2022. "The need to prioritize consumption: A difference-in-differences approach to analyze the total effect of India's below-the-poverty-line policies on LPG use," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    23. Oyeniran, Ishola Wasiu & Isola, Wakeel Atanda, 2023. "Patterns and determinants of household cooking fuel choice in Nigeria," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(PA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fuels; cooking; households; development; energy poverty; Ghana;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources

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