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Why Do Households Forego High Returns from Technology Adoption - Evidence from Improved Cook Stoves in Burkina Faso

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  • Bensch, Gunther
  • Grimm, Michael
  • Peters, Jörg

Abstract

Around 3 billion people in developing countries rely on woodfuels for their daily cooking needs with profound negative implications for their workload, health, and budget as well as the environment. Improved cookstove (ICS) technologies in many cases appear to be an obvious solution. Despite continuous efforts of the international community to disseminate ICS, take up rates in most developing countries are strikingly low. In this paper, we examine the reasons for (non-)adoption of a very simple ICS in urban Burkina Faso. As a first result, we find that ICS users save between 20 and 30 percent of fuels compared to traditional stoves making the investment a very profitable one. Nonetheless, adoption rates are low at a mere 10 percent. It turns out that the major deterrent of adoption are the upfront investment costs - which are much more important than access to information, taste preferences, or the woman's role in the household. These findings suggest that more direct promotion strategies such as subsidies would help the household to overcome its liquidity constraints and hence improve adoption rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Bensch, Gunther & Grimm, Michael & Peters, Jörg, 2014. "Why Do Households Forego High Returns from Technology Adoption - Evidence from Improved Cook Stoves in Burkina Faso," Ruhr Economic Papers 498, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:498
    DOI: 10.4419/86788571
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    15. repec:zbw:rwirep:0494 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. Grimm, Michael & Peters, Jörg, 2014. "Beer, Wood, and Welfare," IZA Discussion Papers 8719, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
      • Grimm, Michael & Peters, Jörg, 2015. "Beer, Wood, and Welfare," Ruhr Economic Papers 538, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    2. Michael Grimm & Jörg Peters, 2015. "Beer, Wood, and Welfare," Ruhr Economic Papers 0538, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
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    4. Bensch, Gunther & Grimm, Michael & Huppertz, Maximilian & Langbein, Jörg & Peters, Jörg, 2018. "Are promotion programs needed to establish off-grid solar energy markets? Evidence from rural Burkina Faso," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 1060-1068.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    household technology adoption; liquidity constraints; weak beliefs; norms and traditions; energy access; Sub-Saharan Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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