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Time for Clean Energy? Cleaner Fuels and Women’s Time in Home Production

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  • Farzana Afridi
  • Sisir Debnath
  • Taryn Dinkelman
  • Komal Sareen

Abstract

In much of the developing world, cooking accounts for the largest share of women’s time in home production. Does relying on solid fuels drive this time burden? This study revisits a clean energy information experiment in rural India to assess the time savings’ potential of cleaner cooking technologies. Treatment villages were randomly assigned to receive information about negative health effects of cooking with solid fuels and about public subsidies for cleaner liquid petroleum gas (LPG). Time-use data indicate that primary cooks spend almost 24 hours cooking each week. Cleaner fuel use is correlated with about 140 minutes less cooking time each week. Yet households only reduce their weekly cooking time by about 35 minutes in response to the randomized clean energy information nudge. Factors limiting the impact of clean energy nudges on the choice of home production technologies and time use are discussed and an avenue for future research is suggested.

Suggested Citation

  • Farzana Afridi & Sisir Debnath & Taryn Dinkelman & Komal Sareen, 2023. "Time for Clean Energy? Cleaner Fuels and Women’s Time in Home Production," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 37(2), pages 283-304.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:wbecrv:v:37:y:2023:i:2:p:283-304.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/wber/lhac031
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    Cited by:

    1. Su, Qinghe & Azam, Mehtabul, 2022. "Does Access to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Reduce Women Household Burden? Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 15842, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    time use; home production; energy use; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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