Cooking fuel choice of rural households in China: The impact of horizontal occupational differentiation and vertical income differentiation

Energy transition can contribute to combating climate change and protecting health, but few studies have adequately addressed the heterogeneity of households in fuel choices. Drawing on three waves of survey data, this study outlines the evolution of primary cooking fuels among rural households in China and employs econometric models to examine how horizontal occupational differentiation and vertical income differentiation are associated with the adoption of clean cooking fuels. The findings are as follows: (1) Rural fuel use in China has been gradually transitioning. By 2016, 75.40 % of households had adopted clean fuels as their primary cooking fuel. However, this transition shows a pattern of higher adoption in the east than in the west, and in the south than in the north, with a relatively flat energy structure. (2) Both horizontal occupational differentiation and vertical income differentiation are linked to divergent preferences in fuel use. Holding other factors constant, the likelihood of using clean cooking fuels is 4.3 percentage points higher for part-time farming households and 9.9 percentage points higher for non-farming households compared to full-time farming households. Likewise, the likelihood is 11.6 and 22.2 percentage points higher for middle- and high-income households, respectively, than for low-income households. (3) As income increases, the probability of choosing clean fuels rises significantly across all household types. However, the association is stronger among part-time farming households. (4) Education has a significantly positive marginal association with clean cooking fuel use across all household types, while distance to township centers shows a significantly negative marginal association. Both effects are more responsive among high-income households. The study suggests that while income growth is an important condition for energy transition, expanding off-farm employment opportunities is also essential.